In order to further standardize the handling of energy regulatory complaints and ensure the legitimate rights and interests of natural persons, legal entities, or other organizations in their energy usage, the "Measures for Handling Complaints through the Energy Regulatory Hotline" are hereby issued to you for compliance.

Energy Regulatory Hotline Complaint Handling Measures

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Article 1: These Measures are formulated to regulate the handling of energy regulatory complaints, ensure the legitimate rights and interests of natural persons, legal entities, and other organizations, in accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and rules.

Article 2: If a natural person, legal entity, or other organization is dissatisfied with the energy service guarantees provided by an energy enterprise and seeks to protect their energy rights and interests, they may file a complaint.

Article 3: Energy regulatory complaint handling adheres to the principles of legality, timeliness, efficiency, and serving the people.

Article 4 The National Energy Administration establishes an energy supervision hotline platform (hereinafter referred to as the hotline platform). The hotline platform receives complaints through methods such as telephone, WeChat official account, mobile application, email, and fax. The hotline platform is operated and managed by the Energy Supervision Hotline Center (hereinafter referred to as the hotline center).

Article 5: The National Energy Administration is responsible for guiding and supervising the handling of energy regulatory complaints nationwide. The National Energy Administration's regional offices are responsible for overseeing the handling of complaints by energy enterprises within their jurisdictions and addressing disputes and appeals related to complaints. Energy enterprises are responsible for handling complaints related to their operations.

Article 6: Complaints that reflect matters related to petitions, reporting, or other matters shall be handled in accordance with relevant regulations.

Chapter 2 Complaint Reception

Article 7: When a complainant files a complaint through the hotline platform, the following materials or information should be provided: (1) Basic information of the complainant, including the name, valid identification information, and valid contact details of natural persons; the name, domicile, unified social credit code of legal entities, the name, valid identification information, and valid contact details of the legal representative; and valid and lawful information of other organizations; (2) Basic information of the respondent, including the name and location of the respondent; (3) The complaint request and the main facts.

Article 8: Upon receiving a complaint, the Hotline Center shall promptly record it in the Complaint and Reporting Handling Information System and dispatch the complaint work order to the relevant energy enterprise headquarters within a specified number of working days, while also transferring it to the local regulatory agency for oversight. For matters that fall under the supervision of other departments, the Hotline Center shall provide an explanation to the complainant.

Chapter 3 Complaint Handling

Article 9: Upon receiving a complaint ticket, energy enterprises shall handle it promptly. Depending on the circumstances, they shall take the following actions: (1) If the responsibility lies with the energy enterprise, it shall actively take effective measures to resolve the issue properly; (2) If the responsibility does not lie with the energy enterprise or there is no factual basis, it shall provide proper explanations.

Article 10: Energy enterprises shall conclude the handling of complaints within five working days from the date of receipt of the complaint and respond to the complainant through electronic mail, SMS, letter, or telephone. The response should include the handling process, conclusion, and basis, as well as available remedies such as appeals, arbitration, or litigation. If the complainant requests a written response, a written reply must be provided. If the complainant is dissatisfied with the handling conclusion, a written reply should be proactively issued.

Article 11 After energy enterprises complete the handling of complaints, they shall promptly provide feedback on the handling results in the complaint and reporting processing information system, including the authenticity of the complaint, the identification of responsibilities, the process of handling the complaint, the satisfaction of the complainant, the response situation, and other relevant content.

Article 12: The hotline center shall conduct a follow-up visit to the complainant within one working day after receiving the feedback on the completion of the case, and record the follow-up visit accurately.

Chapter 4 Objections and Appeals

Article 13: After a complaint reflected to the hotline platform has been processed by an energy enterprise, the complainant may file an appeal with the hotline platform under any of the following circumstances: (1) If the complainant disagrees with the conclusion of the complaint handling made by the energy enterprise, the appeal may be filed from the date the complainant receives the response from the energy enterprise; (2) If the energy enterprise fails to inform the complainant of the conclusion of the complaint handling within the specified period, the appeal may be filed from the date the handling period expires.

Article 14: The complainant shall provide information on the energy enterprise's handling of the complaint when filing an appeal, and explain the appeal request, reasons, factual basis, etc.

Article 15: Complaints are managed according to the territorial principle, with the territorial agency where the complaint occurred handling the matter. Upon receiving a complaint, the Hotline Center should transfer it to the relevant territorial agency for processing within one working day. For matters that have significant impact nationwide or within the energy industry, or where the complainant is the headquarters of a central energy enterprise, the National Energy Administration may elevate the handling level or designate a territorial agency to handle the matter.

Article 16: For matters of appeal that meet the requirements of Articles 13 and 14, the National Energy Administration and its dispatched agencies shall generally accept them. The following circumstances shall not be accepted: (1) Information or materials specified in Article 14 have not been provided; (2) The matter does not fall within the regulatory responsibilities of the National Energy Administration or its dispatched agencies; (3) The appellant and the appellee have reached a settlement and it has been executed; (4) The appeal matter is being processed or has already been processed; (5) The appeal matter has already been or should be resolved through legal proceedings, arbitration, or other statutory means; (6) There are other provisions in laws, regulations, rules, or normative documents.

Article 17: The National Energy Administration and its dispatched agencies shall make a decision on whether to accept or not accept the complaint within five working days from the date of receiving the complaint materials. If the complaint is not accepted, the complainant shall be informed through electronic mail, SMS, letter, or telephone, and the reasons shall be explained, along with the remedies available to the complainant such as reconsideration or litigation. If the complainant requests a written response, a written reply shall be provided.

Article 18: The National Energy Administration and its dispatched agencies shall investigate and verify the complaints they receive and handle them according to different circumstances: (1) If the complaint request is factually clear and in compliance with laws, regulations, rules, and normative documents, it shall be supported; (2) If the complaint request lacks factual basis or is not in compliance with laws, regulations, rules, and normative documents, it shall not be supported; (3) If the complaint request is reasonable but lacks legal, regulatory, or normative document basis, explanations should be provided. In accordance with the provisions of paragraph (1) above, if a decision is made to support the complaint request, the dispatched agency of the National Energy Administration shall order or urge the respondent to execute it. If the National Energy Administration and its dispatched agencies find that the respondent has violated relevant energy laws, regulations, and rules, they shall handle the matter according to law.

Article 19: Complaints should be resolved within the days from the date of acceptance. Under any of the following circumstances, the processing period may be extended, but the extension shall not exceed days, and the reason for the extension shall be informed to the complainant: (1) The complaint involves complex matters and multiple parties; (2) It is difficult to investigate and collect evidence for the complaint; (3) The complaint requires professional appraisal; (4) The complainant presents new facts or evidence that require investigation and verification; (5) Other circumstances that necessitate an extension of the processing period.

Article 20: If the complainant applies to withdraw the complaint through the hotline platform, the handling of the complaint may be terminated. If the complaint involves illegal or irregular activities, it shall continue to be investigated and dealt with in accordance with laws and regulations.

Article 21: The National Energy Administration and its dispatched agencies shall respond to the complainant via email, SMS, letter, or telephone within 10 working days from the date of making the decision to close the case. The response should include the findings of the investigation, the outcome of the handling, the basis, and the remedies available to the complainant such as reconsideration or litigation. If the complainant requests a written response, a written response shall be provided. If the complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome of the complaint handling, a written response shall be proactively issued.

Article 22: The hotline center shall conduct a follow-up visit to the complainant within one working day after receiving the feedback on the resolution of the complaint, and shall truthfully record the details of the follow-up visit.

Chapter 5 Supervision and Management

Article 23 The National Energy Administration and its dispatched agencies shall establish and improve mechanisms for the supervision, assessment, notification, accountability, appeal, and transfer of complaint handling, and regularly disclose complaint handling situations and typical issues to the public.

Article 24: The National Energy Administration and its dispatched agencies should strengthen the analysis and judgment of complaint data, identify common and trend-related issues, study and improve policy measures, and promote the effective resolution of common problems.

Article 25: The regional offices of the National Energy Administration shall exercise full-process supervision over the handling of complaint matters by energy enterprises within their jurisdiction, keeping track of the processing and response by these enterprises, and conducting random checks on the handling of complaints by energy enterprises. If the regional offices of the National Energy Administration find that the handling of complaints by an energy enterprise is improper, they shall issue a督办; if they discover that the energy enterprise has violated relevant energy laws, regulations, or rules, they shall investigate and deal with the matter in accordance with the law and regulations.

Article 26: The National Energy Administration, its dispatched agencies, energy enterprises, and hotline center staff shall keep confidential any commercial secrets or personal privacy they become aware of during the process of handling complaints.

Article 27: Energy regulatory complaint handling personnel who engage in abuse of power, personal gain, or other illegal and irregular activities in the course of handling complaints shall be held accountable in accordance with laws and regulations.

Article 28: Energy enterprises that provide false materials or retaliate against complainants shall be ordered to rectify by the National Energy Administration and its dispatched agencies. If the conditions for administrative penalties are met, administrative penalties shall be imposed in accordance with the law.

Chapter 6 Supplementary Provisions

Article 29: This measure shall come into effect on the date of month and year, and shall be valid for five years. The "Notice of the National Energy Administration on Issuing" (Guo Neng Jian Guan [ ] No.) is simultaneously repealed.