Customer Service Department

The Customer Service Department comprises the following Sections:

1. Customer Service Centre (CSC)
2. Issue of Terms
3. New Connections / Disconnections / Reconnections
4. Meter Reading
5. Installation Inspection
6. Street Lighting Maintenance (S/L)
7. Stand By and extraordinary fault attendance service.

The Customer Service Department also provides Customer Service Centres (CSC) at selected points of the town and of the District for more direct service to citizens.

The main work at the above activities is as follows:

1. Customer Service Centre (CSC) 

• Information to customers
• Receipt of applications
• Handling of complaints/queries of customers regarding their service
• Customer’s Office – Box for complaints/suggestions

The following type of work is carried out only at the CSC of the Area Office:

• Preparation of letters to customers relating to:
• Forwarding of information/documentation needed
• Collection of additional information/documentation
• Updating on the progress of an application in the event of a problem
• Letter of refusal to an application for storage heaters
•  Preparation of terms for connection of a generator using photovoltaic cells
• Re-issue of already approval terms
• Preparation of Report of indicators for the Regulating Authority (CERA)

2. Issue of Terms

• Preparation and issue of terms for electricity supply to applicants in time with the approved policy and the Quality Assurance System.
• Acceptance of terms for electricity supply by applicants
• Preparation of Letters to the competent Authority regarding:
• Final Approval of parcellated building plots
• Final Approval of Building Permits for buildings with ground mounted Substations
• Refunds to customers
• Charges for violating the seals of fuses
• Charges for damage to EAC meters
• Charging customers for additional load under the expedited process
• Monitoring of the Maximum Demand of customers and review in accordance with their needs
• Preparation of letters to Head Office regarding refundable terms
• Advice to customers regarding tariffs

3. New Connections / Disconnections / Reconnections 

3.1 Connection of new customers

3.2 Disconnection of customers and issue of final account

3.3 Reconnections – Account Transfers without disconnection

3.1 Connection of new customers

When the customer is a natural person he must bring along the following documents:

• Lease or Purchase agreement
• Identity card or passport

When the customer is a legal person (company) the following documents must be brought along:

• Certificate of Registration of the Company
• Certificate of shareholders of the Company and of the Managers
• Stamp of the Company
• Application for electricity supply duly signed on behalf of the Company by an authorised person legally representing the Company
• A guarantee document from the shareholders or a shareholder or a safe guarantor personally guaranteeing to pay any account of EAC in the name of the Company which remains unpaid. This document does not apply to public or off-shore Companies
• Lease or Purchase document

The amount of customer’s deposit which came into effect as from 1st Jan 2008 is as follows:

Costumer’s Category	Amount in Euro (€)
Domestic Tariff (Tariffs 05, 06, 07, 08)
Cypriot citizens, citizens of the European Union and aliens who are owners of the premises	17
Aliens who are tenants of the premises (non European Union members)	128
Commercial / Industrial Tariff – Low Voltage (Tariffs 15, 16, 17, 61, 62, 25, 26, 27, 71, 72)
Cypriot citizens, citizens of the European Union and aliens who are owners of the premises	51
Off-shore Companies and aliens who are tenants	341
Commercial / Industrial – Medium/High Voltage (Tariffs 63, 73, 83)	128
Water pamping (Tariff 41)	51

It should be noted that for citizens of the European Union the amount of the deposit is charged to the first bill.

For off-shore Companies and for non European Union members, the amount of the deposit is payable prior to the connection of the service.

3.2 Disconnection of Customers and issue of final accounts

3.2.1 At customers request 

When the costumer is a natural person he must proceed with one of the following two actions:

•  The customer should sent a letter or a fax duly signed and giving all necessary information of his account
•  The customer should visit the Office or the CSC of the Authority’s bringing along his identity card or his passport.

If the customer’s last bill is outstanding he must proceed with the settlement of his account and disconnection of the supply and issue of the final account will follow.

When the customer is a legal person it must proceed in one of the following two ways:

• Sent a letter duly signed and stamped on the Company’s letterhead giving all necessary information of its account
• A duly authorized representative of the company should visit the Office or the CSC bringing along his identity card (except a Manager or a shareholder who must bring along a certificate of shareholders or Managers and his own identity card)

If the customer’s last bill is outstanding this should be settled and disconnection and the issue of the final account will follow.

3.2.2 Due to non payment of account for electricity or due to illegal interference   

         with the Authority’s installations

The Electricity Law gives the right to EAC to proceed with disconnection of the supply of electricity to all premises of the customer for which payment of electricity bills are outstanding beyond the time limits prescribed by the Law and/or the customer has illegally interfered with the Authority’s installations.

3.3. Reconnections – Account Transfers without disconnection

3.3.1 At customer’s request

The procedure outlined in paragraph 3.1 above is followed

3.3.2 Following disconnection of supply for non payment or illegal interference  

         with EAC installations

In this case for the reconnection of the supply of electricity the customers should have first paid any amount due to the Authority including reconnection fees.

4. Meter Reading

• Reading of the energy meters
• Recording of the consumption of bi-monthly customers (every 61 days)
• Recording of the consumption of monthly customers (every last working day of the month or every first working day of the month)
• Use of portable electronic recorders for the purposes of recording the meter reading
• Management of meter reading zones
•  Separation of the town, suburbs and villages into zones
• Further separation of zones into parts
• Processing of the recorded meter readings and their dispatch to the Electronic Processing Department for the issue and mailing of bills.
• Confirmation and/or correction of readings resulting in unusually low or high consumption
• Preparation of reports for damage to meters and/or stealing of electricity

In accordance with the Electricity Law CAP 170 the consumer is obliged to allow the officers and servants of the Authority to enter his premises at any reasonable time for the purposes of inspecting, checking, repairing or replacing any plant or electrical equipment belonging to the Authority, for recording the reading of the meter and for inspecting and testing the installation and the electrical appliances of the consumer. Any consumer intending to close his premises for a period longer than three months is obliged to inform the Authority accordingly.

Cases where there is a problem in recording the meter reading which must be avoided or be referred to the Authority for the purpose of finding an alternative solution:

• Meter installed in the premises
• Meter situated in the staircase with the main entrance door shut
• Meter situated in a garage having a closed automatic door
• Meter situated in the basement which is of common use but which is closed
• Meter situated in a normal position but within fencing and high and closed gates
• Meter at normal position but with guard dog/s

 5. Installation Inspection

• Provision of technical advisory service in connection with customer’s electrical installations
• Receipt of applications and electrical drawings from licensed Electrical Contractors
• Maintenance of a programme for inspection of electrical installations
• Testing, inspection and checking of electrical installations and appliances
• Connection and disconnection of electrical installations and appliances with the supply service of the Authority
• Investigation of cases of illegal connections and/or interference with the equipment or installations of the Authority in connection with stealing of electricity or other purposes
• Inspection of premises for the purpose of deciding the method of supply and/or for modifying the existing method of supply
• Estimation of the load of the customer’s electrical installations
• Installation of medium voltage meters for large consumers
• Installation of metering instrumentation for the needs of the Authority’s research programmes
• Recording of meter readings for large consumers and testing their correctness
• Management of the Registry of sealing pliers and instruments
• Handling of customer complaints:
• In connection with the accuracy of meters and installation of check meters where nesesssary
• For low voltage or other abnormalities in connection with the quality of the electricity supply

6. Maintenance of Street Lighting (S/L)

• Checking and Repair of street lighting as provided for in the relevant agreements with the Authorities concerned
• Schemes for the installation of S/L lanterns on existing network
• Accidents on S/L columns and reports for their replacement
• Meter reading of S/L meters

The S/L Maintenance Section comprises:

• S/L Gangs working on shift
• Gangs which deal with the handling of consumer complaints and also assist the personnel working on shift

7. Stand by and extraordinary fault attendance service

• Provision of service in connection with interruptions of supply and/or other extraordinary repairs on the Authority’s installations following a relevant report by customers
• Operation of low voltage and high voltage switching devices
• Recording of information and load research

The Stand by Section is manned on a 24 hour basis daily with telephone operators for fault reporting in cooperation with the PCFR(telephone 1800) as well as with technician gangs for the rectification of faults affecting customers from 07:00 until 24:00