Electricity and natural gas consumers can always change supplier within a maximum of 21 days, even if they have not paid their last bill with the old supplier. He is obliged to issue the final invoice within 42 days after the departure of the client. If we receive an invoice from the old supplier after more than 42 days, we are obliged to pay it, but we can ask for it to be settled and the company must accept it. We can also complain to ANRE that the supplier did not comply with the law and issued the regularization invoice too late.

According to the Electricity Law 123/2012, electricity consumers have the right to “receive a final settlement of all payment obligations within a maximum of 42 days after changing supplier.”

By September 1 next year, we will also receive an invoice to arrange the cost of green certificates.

For natural gas, customers will receive a single final billing statement within a maximum of 42 days after switching supplier.

What should we do if we still receive bills after these deadlines? We can ask for an installment payment, and the company is obliged to agree, representatives of the Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) explained to HotNews.ro.

This also applies to the period of validity of the contract. Whenever a company invoices later than it should have, we can ask for installment payments and the company is obliged to accept this.

We can also file a complaint with ANRE if the old supplier delayed the consumption bill for more than 42 days.

However, in practice, customers continue to receive utility bills even months after switching providers.

Alin, a home consumer from Brasov, continues to receive invoices with pluses and minuses from the old supplier.

“I called the call center and they told me that regularization is still going on. Bills 1 lei, 2 minus lei, the last 1.18 lei, each with different payment terms. I don’t even know what to do. I don’t have a contract anymore with them since February,” says Alin.

It’s more difficult when you’ve paid more on a supplier’s account and after changing it you have money to pay back.

According to the regulation on the supply of electricity to end consumers, the supplier must return the debt to you within a maximum of 15 days from the date of receipt of the information necessary for payment.

With respect to natural gas, the deadline is no more than 5 calendar days from the date of the invoice or, if applicable, no more than 5 calendar days from the date of receipt from the end user of the information necessary for payment.

Daniela, a residential customer from Bucharest, received the money from her old electricity supplier after a month and only after insisting by phone calls and emails.

“I received several negative invoices from the old supplier, a kind of regularization after regularization, the last one was minus 88 lei. I called the call center, where they told me that I should make a request and attach an account where to transfer the money. I then received an email from them asking me to provide a copy of my ID as well as proof of the payments I was claiming a refund for. I was wondering what the point of this request was because they had proof that I had paid the bills because they were issuing regular clearance. “I finally sent everything they asked for and a month later I got the money,” she says.

From 2026, we will be able to change our electricity and gas supplier within 24 hours

Suppliers are obliged to provide consumers with a free opportunity to actually change their natural gas supplier within 21 days from the date of application.

The legislation allows people to switch to another provider before the old provider issues the last bill. From 2026, the intention of the authorities is to make the process of changing supplier possible within 24 hours.

This year, NARE received almost 10,000 complaints regarding electricity and natural gas billing, as well as the process of switching suppliers (8,066 complaints regarding electricity and 1,056 complaints regarding natural gas).