【线上云德】疫情期间律师说（一百六十六）┃民法典之合同篇新规则(一)

新规则一：供用电、水、气热力合同

《中华人民共和国民法典》第六百四十八条：供用电合同是供电人向用电人供电，用电人支付电费的合同。

向社会公众供电的供电人，不得拒绝用电人合理的订立合同要求。

第六百五十四条：用电人应当按照国家有关规定和当事人的约定及时支付电费。用电人逾期不支付电费的，应当按照约定支付违约金。经催告用电人在合理期限内仍不支付电费和违约金的，供电人可以按照国家规定的程序中止供电。

供电人依据前款规定中止供电的，应当事先通知用电人。

民法典新增供电单位的强制缔约义务，也就是说用电人如果要求签订供电合同，则供电人必须签订，否则用电人可以追究供电人的缔约过失责任。

另外，关于中止供电的问题，此次民法典也做出强势回应，即在用电人欠付电费的情况下，供电人不得随意中止供电，而应事先通知用电人，否则，因中止停电而造成的损失由供电人承担。

New Rule 1: Contracts for the supply of electricity, water, gas and heat

Article 648 of the "Civil Code of the People's Republic of China": The electricity supply contract is a contract in which the electricity supplier supplies electricity to the electricity consumer and the electricity consumer pays the electricity bill.

The power supplier who supplies electricity to the public shall not refuse the power user’s reasonable contract requirements.

Article 654: The electricity user shall pay electricity fees in a timely manner in accordance with relevant state regulations and the agreement of the parties. If the electricity user fails to pay the electricity fee within the time limit, it shall pay liquidated damages in accordance with the agreement. If the power user fails to pay the electricity charges and liquidated damages within a reasonable time limit after being reminded, the power supplier may suspend the power supply in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the state.

If the power supplier suspends power supply in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, it shall notify the power user in advance.

The Civil Code has added a new compulsory contracting obligation for the power supply unit, which means that if the power user requests to sign a power supply contract, the power supplier must sign, otherwise the power user can hold the power supplier responsible for negligence in signing the contract.

In addition, regarding the suspension of power supply, this time the Civil Code also made a strong response, that is, in the case where the power user owes the electricity bill, the power supplier shall not arbitrarily suspend the power supply, but shall notify the power user in advance, otherwise, the power failure will be suspended. The resulting losses shall be borne by the power supplier.

新规则二：保证合同

《中华人民共和国民法典》第六百八十六条　保证的方式包括一般保证和连带责任保证。

当事人在保证合同中对保证方式没有约定或者约定不明确的,按照一般保证承担保证责任。

该规定完全颠覆了之前的《担保法》第十九条的规定，即保证人在保证合同中未明确表示是一般保证还是连带保证，认定为一般保证，虽然此规定对债权人不利，但这样规定更符合常理、人性，更能体现以人民为中心的立法思想。

New Rule Two: Guarantee Contract

Article 686 of the "Civil Code of the People's Republic of China": The guarantee methods include general guarantee and joint liability guarantee.

If the parties have not agreed on the guarantee method or the agreement is not clear in the guarantee contract, they shall bear the guarantee responsibility in accordance with the general guarantee.

This provision completely overturns the previous Article 19 of the "Guarantee Law", that is, the guarantor did not clearly indicate in the guarantee contract whether it is a general guarantee or a joint guarantee, which is regarded as a general guarantee. Although this provision is detrimental to the creditor, it is even more important. It is in line with common sense and human nature, and can better reflect the people-centered legislative thinking.