Recalculation for public utility services. What does a consumer needs to know?

Families and citizens of Kazakhstan who have a small income and spend a significant part of it on utility receipts are entitled to housing assistance from the state. Housing assistance can be provided to families permanently residing in a certain area whose total income is below the minimum subsistence level.

An application for housing assistance is submitted via the online service. The following should be enclosed to the online application:

• documents confirming a family income;
• a certificate from the place of work or a certificate of registration as an unemployed;
• information on alimony for children and other dependents;
• bank account;
• receipts on monthly contributions for the maintenance of a residential house (residential building);
• utility receipts;
• telecommunication services receipts or a copy of the contract for the provision of communication services;
• receipts on the amount of a housing rent rented by a local executive body in a private housing fund presented by a local executive body.

Notification on the assignment of housing assistance is sent to the Personal Account within 8 working days.

Payment of housing assistance is made to accounts opened by recipients in second-tier banks.

- not to violate the terms of the public agreement

- if there is an individual measuring device (IMD), take readings monthly and enter them in receipts on time

- also provide access to inspectors to check the measuring devices and perform timely verification /replacement of devices (according to the manufacturer's recommendations).

- it is necessary to pay for public utility services by the 25^th of each month.

On gov.kz portal you can use the service online.

Carefully track the amounts and having a slightest doubt, contact public utility providers for explanations.

Pursuant to the terms of the contract, a consumer can apply to the supplier for recalculation of charges for the supply of heat, electricity and water and compensation of actual damage caused by the non-delivery or delivery of substandard public utility services.

Thus, within three calendar days from the date of a consumer's application submission regarding poor quality of the service, a supplier takes all the measures to restore the quality and recalculate the charges.

To do this, a consumer needs to:

 - notify a supplier about the fact in person (submit an application) or online, or submit a notice with indication of time, date of submission and surname of a person who submitted/accepted a notice.

The notice should contain the following:

• specific time when deterioration in the quality of public services has been noticed
• nature of deterioration
• need for the presence of a representative of a supplier (if the deterioration of the quality of utility services or its termination by a supplier is not recorded in the log)

A supplier verifies the marks in the log on the deviation of the quality of public utility services from the norm specified in the application, and in the absence of disagreement recalculates the cost of public utility services in accordance with its actual consumption.

In case of overpayments, an amount is credited for future charges.

To get a notification on the assignment of housing assistance, you need to visit "Government for Citizens" Public Corporation branch and submit an application upon provision of the following documents:

• national ID;
• documents confirming a family income (except of information obtained from the relevant state information systems);
• a certificate from the place of work or a certificate of registration as an unemployed (except of information obtained from the relevant state information systems);
• information on alimony for children and other dependents;
• bank account;
• receipts on monthly contributions for the maintenance of a residential house (residential building);
• utility receipts;
• telecommunication services receipts or a copy of the contract for the provision of communication services;
• receipts on the amount of a housing rent rented by a local executive body in a private housing fund presented by a local executive body.

To save time, we recommend you to make an appointment to CSC online.

The increase in charges is most often associated with an increase in utility tariffs, which occurs at least once a year, for example, during the heating season.

Also, increase in charges occurs when violations on the part of consumers are detected. In case of underpayments, an outstanding amount is included into a new receipt.

Major reasons for the increase in charges:

• Absence of meter readings. For instance, if a consumer has not transmitted meter readings for 3 months. The payment for previous month is calculated based on the average daily consumption, not on actual consumption. Recalculation is made upon provision of meter readings.
• Change in parameters: number of residents, accommodation area, and heat load.
• In cases of unauthorized connection.
• Upon confirmation of temporary absence of family members: a certificate from a medical institution, a business trip certificate from the place of work, departure/arrival tickets, etc.
• Absence of a building-level meter in the house. Upon completion of the heating season, cost of heat supply services is recalculated based on the actual outdoor temperature.​