Electricity disconnection for debt in Montenegro 2026: at least eight days' warning, no disconnection on Fridays and weekends, vulnerable customers and complaints about a bill

Under the Energy Law a supplier may not cut you off without a written warning giving you at least eight days to pay the debt or agree on repayment. A disconnection may not start on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, public holiday or the day before a holiday. If you have paid the undisputed part of the bill and filed a complaint about the disputed part in time, the supplier has no right to ask for a disconnection, and the Consumer Protection Law also forbids making reconnection conditional on paying debts older than two years. Households with ill persons or persons with disabilities who are in social need may never be cut off, and households in social need from October to the end of April. After you pay, power is restored immediately, and within 24 hours at the latest.

This guide explains when a supplier may ask for a disconnection, when you cannot be cut off, who vulnerable customers are, how to complain about a bill and how power is restored.

When may a supplier ask for a disconnection?

• If you do not settle your obligations within the warning period either, the supplier asks the distribution system operator to limit or suspend supply.
• The same applies to gas if you receive it through the distribution network.
• The supplier publishes on its website a programme of measures to help customers pay due obligations and avoid disconnection, so ask about a repayment agreement before the warning period ends.

When can you not be cut off?

• If you have paid the undisputed part of the bill and filed a complaint about the disputed part in time, the supplier has no right to ask for disconnection or limitation of supply.
• While a bill is being disputed in court, out-of-court or administrative proceedings and you regularly pay the undisputed amounts, the service provider may not cut you off until the proceedings end.
• If it has cut you off in that case anyway, it must reconnect you without delay and free of charge.
• The service provider may not make reconnection conditional on paying your debts older than two years.
• While you dispute a due debt, the provider may not start enforced collection until the proceedings end.
• These Consumer Protection Law rules apply to all services of public interest, including electricity, gas, heating and water.

Who are vulnerable customers?

• Health- and socially-vulnerable customers are households with persons with disabilities, special needs or poor health whose life or health could be endangered by a disconnection, and who are in social need.
• Socially vulnerable customers are households with persons in social need established by the competent social care institution or authority.
• Health- and socially-vulnerable customers may never be cut off from electricity and gas, and socially vulnerable customers from the beginning of October to the end of April, regardless of unpaid bills.
• Vulnerable customers are identified by the authorities for social care and health, which notify the supplier, and the Government sets the criteria, the bill subsidy and the consumption limit.

How do you complain about a bill?

• You file a complaint about a bill for electricity, water and other services of public interest within 15 days of receiving the bill.
• You are entitled to a bill with all the data needed to check the calculation and to a free check of the bill.
• The supplier states on or with the bill where, when and how to file a complaint.
• The supplier decides on a complaint about electricity supply within no more than 15 days of receiving it, and in justified cases also awards you financial compensation.
• You can appeal a decision on compensation for failing the minimum quality standards to the Energy Regulatory Agency.
• Pay the undisputed part of the bill before the complaint deadline, because only then does the ban on disconnection protect you.

What to do when power goes out because of a fault is covered in our guide to power outages, and how long a bill debt lasts in our guide to the limitation period for debts. Tariffs and the price per kilowatt-hour are covered in our guide to electricity prices, and state support for households in social need in our guide to social assistance.

Frequently asked questions

Can my electricity be cut off without a warning? No, the supplier first warns you and gives you at least eight days from delivery of the warning to pay the debt or agree on repayment.

Can my electricity be cut off on a Friday? No, a disconnection may not start on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, public holiday or the day before a holiday.

What if I dispute my electricity bill? Pay the undisputed part and file a complaint about the disputed part in time, and the supplier then has no right to ask for a disconnection.

Can they ask me to pay an old debt first before reconnecting me? The service provider may not make reconnection conditional on paying debts older than two years.

Who may not be cut off in winter? Households in social need from October to the end of April, and households with ill persons or persons with disabilities who are in social need never.

How soon is power restored after I pay? Immediately, and within 24 hours of settling the due obligations at the latest.

Sources

The warning, the days of disconnection, the ban on disconnection with a complaint, reconnection, complaints and vulnerable customers are set by the Energy Law (Official Gazette 28/25, Arts. 179, 180, 182 and 186), and services of public interest, the complaint deadline, the ban on disconnection during a dispute and the ban on conditioning reconnection on debts older than two years by the Consumer Protection Law (Official Gazette 12/26, Arts. 28, 37 and 43). The information was checked on 28 September 2026. Fijaka is a classifieds platform; this text is not legal advice.