Major electricity provider ČEZ accused of blackmailing problematic customers

The country’s top electricity producer ČEZ has been accused of bullying and blackmailing customers who it said had been tapping electricity illegally. If convicted, 32 of the energy giant’s employees may face up to 12 years in jail for forcing these clients to pay disproportionately high sums of money in damages.

The largest Czech energy producer and distributor ČEZ presents itself as a solid, stable and strong partner which clients can rely on for all their energy needs. And there was no doubting the energy giant’s strength in its dealings with customers suspected of illegally tapping electricity. The organized crime squad of the Czech police has accused 32 CEZ employees of forcing their way onto people’s premises and blackmailing them. The police acted on a joint complaint filed by a group of ČEZ customers, represented by lawyer Jan Rytíř.

“I have been saying since the beginning that this is exactly what ČEZ was doing, and the police investigation finally confirmed our suspicions. The prosecution is of course not the same as a final judgment, but it is a necessary prerequisite leading to it.”

The investigation revealed that on at least 50 occasions, ČEZ employees disconnected the alleged thieves’ cables and made them agree to pay large sums of money. In the process they would threaten to blacklist their clients, keep them without electricity for years, and ultimately report them to the police. The customers suspected of electricity tapping were often invited to the company’s headquarters in the late night hours.

The energy producer has denied these accusations, saying that its employees always treat customers with respect and has offered to prove the point with a number of videotapes. But lawyer Jan Rytíř points out that they never had the right to cut off their customers electricity supplies, whether they were stealing electricity or not.

“The fact that ČEZ disconnects the customer, instead of removing the tampered connection and reconnecting him, doesn’t only affect the customer, thief or not, but it affects his whole family. One of our clients, whom they labelled a thief, was connected to a breathing facilitator, and he had big health problems as a result, and no one cared. That’s why electricity is a protected commodity.”

The affected clients also filed a complaint with the European Commissioner for Energy, pointing out that the Czech Republic had not been able to protect these endangered groups of electricity consumers. Meanwhile, the ČEZ energy producer filed several counter-lawsuits against Jan Rytíř for libel, and has shown no intention of adopting more refined practices.