How to Report Excessive or Abusive Water and Electricity Reconnection Charges to the Superservicios

Few things generate as much helplessness in daily life in Colombia as paying an overdue water or electricity bill, verifying that they never physically cut the supply, and, the following month, finding a surprise reconnection or reinstallation charge. For thousands of households, tenants, and property owners, these amounts are not only disproportionate compared to the monthly bill but are manifestly illegal.

There is a widespread belief that public utility companies have the final say and that it is useless to fight reconnection fees. However, the Colombian regulatory framework provides strong legal tools to dismantle unjustified charges. In this guide, we explain when a reconnection charge violates the law, how to demand a breakdown of your bill so you can pay only your regular consumption without having your service suspended, and how to take the case to the Superintendency of Residential Public Services (Superservicios) through legal remedies and the declaration of Positive Administrative Silence.

When a water or electricity reconnection charge is illegal in Colombia

The starting point for any claim is Article 96 of Law 142 of 1994. This regulation authorizes utility providers to charge for reconnection or reinstallation solely to cover the actual and efficient costs incurred by the entity to restore service. The law is categorical: the reconnection charge is not a sanction, it is not a criminal fine, and it cannot generate commercial profit for the public utility company.

Under the regulations in effect in 2026, a water or energy reconnection charge is illegal in any of the following circumstances:

• Absence of physical suspension: If you paid the outstanding balance before the technical crew physically interfered with the service line or meter, the company cannot charge you for reconnection. The charge requires a work order executed in the field with a real seal or cut; it does not proceed based on simple suspension notices in the commercial system.
• Payment channel failures or banking errors: If the payment did not arrive on time due to problems with the entity's web gateway or operational delays by the financial collector, the user cannot be penalized with reconnection costs.
• Charges above the efficient cost schedule: Companies cannot set arbitrary tariffs. The values must correspond strictly to the tariff regime regulated by the Potable Water and Basic Sanitation Regulation Commission (CRA) and the Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (CREG), reflecting real technical costs.

To learn in detail the technical difference between preventive suspension and definitive cut-off, consult our guide on the reconnection charging rules according to Superservicios.

Your right to challenge without having your service cut off (Article 155)

The most recurring fear among users is that, by filing a claim for an unjustified reconnection charge, the company will proceed to cut off the water or electricity supply due to late payment. Colombian legislation expressly provides for this situation to protect the citizen.

The Article 155 of Law 142 of 1994 establishes that no company can require prior payment of the sums being claimed as a requirement to attend to a petition, complaint, or appeal. Furthermore, the operator cannot suspend the service based on the disputed amount, provided that the subscriber pays the non-disputed concepts or the average consumption of the last five billing periods on time.

In practice, if you receive a bill that includes a disputed reconnection charge, you must use the entity's customer service channels or file a formal request for them to issue a provisional payment coupon or slip for the non-objected consumption. The exact value of that charge depends on each provider's tariff schedule, not on a national cap in pesos. While the PQR and subsequent appeals are in process, that disputed item enters a state of legal freeze and does not generate late interest or grounds for cut-off.

Step 1: Formal filing of the PQR with the utility provider

It is not possible to go directly to Superservicios without having exhausted the initial procedure before the corresponding utility company. The law requires filing a formal Petition, Complaint, or Claim (PQR) with the provider entity.

When drafting your document, gather the following supporting evidence:

1. Legible copy of the bill under dispute, clearly identifying the contract account number or subscriber code.
2. Bank receipt proving the exact date and time you paid the previous bill.
3. Photos with date and time of the meter or service line proving that the technical seal was not broken or that a physical disconnection from the network never existed.
4. Formal request for the technical crew's work order, demanding the date, time, operator number, and site visit report justifying the alleged field procedure.

To facilitate this process, you can adapt the following basic draft:

Place and date: [Property address], [Current date of 2026]
To: [Name of Public Utility Company]
Subject: Formal claim against improper reconnection charge (Art. 96 and 155, Law 142 of 1994)
Contract Account / Subscriber: [Account number]

I, [Your Full Name], identified with ID [Your Number], as a user of the property located at [Address], submit a formal claim requesting the immediate exclusion of the charge for reconnection/reinstallation billed in the period [Month/Year] for the amount of $[Disputed amount].

I declare under oath that said charge is improper since the obligation was paid on time on [Payment date] and the company did not execute a physical suspension of the service at the service line or meter, as required by Article 96 of Law 142 of 1994. I request the immediate issuance of a payment slip for the non-disputed value corresponding to habitual consumption (Art. 155), refraining from suspending the supply while this claim is pending.

Notifications: [Email and phone].

If in addition to the reconnection fee you identify distortions in the cubic meters or kilowatts billed, review the procedure to file a claim for excessive utility consumption charges.

Step 2: The 15-day term and the Positive Administrative Silence (SAP)

Once the PQR (petition, complaint, or appeal) is filed, the utility provider has a mandatory term of 15 business days to provide a substantive response and notify you of the decision, in accordance with Article 158 of Law 142 of 1994. This count begins on the business day following the formal filing.

If 15 business days pass and the company has not legally notified you of its response, the Positive Administrative Silence (SAP)is configured by operation of law. This means that the law presumes your petition was granted in your favor in its entirety.

In such a scenario, the company loses the right to charge the reconnection fee. However, companies rarely apply this benefit voluntarily. This is where you must go to the Superservicios to demand an investigation be opened and the Positive Administrative Silence be formally declared, ordering the mandatory removal of the debt from your commercial history.

Step 3: Legal remedies if the company rejects your claim

If the company replies within the term but decides to deny your request by justifying that the charge is correct, do not give up. You have the right to file an Appeal for Reconsideration and, as a subsidiary, an Appeal to a higher authority, protected by Articles 154 and 159 of Law 142 of 1994.

Keep the following procedural rules in mind:

• 5-business-day term: You must file the document within five business days following the date you received notification of the negative response. If you miss this deadline, the decision stands.
• Joint Reconsideration and Appeal: In a single document, you request that the company itself reconsider its decision (reconsideration) and, in the highly likely event that it maintains its refusal, you expressly order it to send the complete file to the Superintendency of Public Utilities (appeal) so that this entity may make the final decision.
• Complaint Remedy: If the company irregularly denies the granting of the appeal, you can directly file a complaint remedy with the Superservicios within five business days following the rejection to compel the submission of the file.

How to process your complaint before the Superservicios on the Te Resuelvo portal

The Superintendency of Public Utilities handles user disputes nationwide in a completely digital manner through its official platform Te Resuelvo (teresuelvo.superservicios.gov.co).

To file a complaint, follow up on an appeal, or request a sanction for Positive Administrative Silence on the portal, follow these steps:

1. Enter the institutional portal Te Resuelvo and select the option to file citizen procedures.
2. Select the type of procedure: complaint, request for declaration of Positive Administrative Silence, or complaint against providers.
3. Upload supporting documents in PDF format: your identity document, a copy of the PQR filed with the visible stamp or filing number, the company's negative response (or proof that the 15 business days passed without a statement), and the latest bill.
4. Specify your notification details precisely: email address and personal mobile number.

Once the file is submitted, the Superservicios assigns a national registration number. The entity will verify whether the company technically demonstrated the existence of actual costs during the visit or if it violated tariff principles and due process. In the event of confirmed repeated malpractice, the Superintendency not only orders the deduction of the bill amount for the user but can also initiate sanctioning investigations against the company for unauthorized charges.

According to active ads on Colombia Move (September 2026), there are 48 active apartment ads and 18 room ads: those move-ins and move-outs are frequently the setting for water and electricity debts and reconnection fees when handing over keys. If the property is rented, align the claim with the public utility guarantees in the lease agreement.

Frequently asked questions

❓ Can they charge me for reconnection if I paid the bill before they came to cut the service?

No, charging for reconnection is illegal if there was no effective physical suspension. Article 96 of Law 142 of 1994, in force in 2026, only allows remuneration for actual costs of restoring the service; if the worker did not touch the connection or the meter, there is no chargeable operating cost.

❓ Do I have to pay the amount of the abusive reconnection to be able to file a claim?

No, under no circumstances. Article 155 of Law 142 of 1994, in force in 2026, prohibits requiring payment of the disputed amount to accept the PQR. Request a voucher for the undisputed average consumption and pay it on time to avoid the cutoff.

❓ How much time does the water or energy company have to respond to my PQR?

The company has 15 business days from the day following the formal filing. Article 158 of Law 142 of 1994, in force in 2026, sets that term; a response notified after that time does not serve to dismiss your request.

❓ What happens if the water or electricity company does not respond to me within the 15 business days?

The Positive Administrative Silence operates in favor of the user. Law 142 of 1994, in force in 2026, presumes your petition is accepted, and the company must remove the charge; request formal recognition before the Superservicios.

❓ Is it true that a new law set the water and electricity reconnection at one thousand pesos or zero pesos?

No, that information is false. The caps in Law 2485, in force in 2026, apply only to telecommunications (CRC). For water, electricity, and gas, the charge follows the efficient costs of Law 142 of 1994, not a national cap of one thousand pesos.

❓ What do I do if the company unduly rejects my appeal to the Superservicios?

File a Complaint Remedy before the Superservicios on Te Resuelvo within 5 business days following the rejection. Articles 154 and 159 of Law 142 of 1994, in force in 2026, allow the Superintendency to review the blockage and demand the submission of the file.