Czech energy regulator: Complaints about energy scammers are rising again

The Energy Regulatory Office (ERÚ) has received dozens of complaints in recent weeks about fraudulent energy traders, known in Czech as “energošmejdi”. Consumers have alerted the office to, among other things, violations of the ban on door-to-door sales and false or misleading information provided by traders. Energy brokers have been required to register with ERÚ since the middle of last year. More than 800 legal entities and individuals have applied for registration, and ERÚ has entered 626 in the register. The office announced this today in a press release.

Complaints about brokers’ unfair practices fell significantly in the second half of last year, but the office has recorded several dozen in recent weeks.

„The number of complaints is still substantially lower than during the critical years from 2018 to 2021, when energy scammers targeted consumers with offers of energy auctions. But the upward trend suggests that, after a lull last year, dishonest brokers are returning to the scene,“ said Ladislav Havel, a member of the ERÚ Council.