How is ČEZ ripping us off?
I received an electricity bill from ČEZ Prodej. To be honest, ČEZ is no longer my supplier. Two days after receiving the invoice, I found another supplier. Reasons?
During the billing period, I consumed 4,527 kWh. The price for that is 40,389 CZK. So on average, 1 kWh cost me 8.92 CZK. But the invoice states 7.82 CZK/kWh. So the reality is 1.1 CZK higher than what they report to me, the consumer. A mistake? A deception? Confusing the enemy? Or am I missing something in the division of numbers?
Power electricity costs 20,578/4,527 = 4.55 CZK/kWh. But when I look at the energy stock exchange prices for 2024, they were on average 91.28 €/MWh. In conversion, that’s 2.282 CZK/kWh. So in this item alone, they increased the price by 199%. And I’m not even talking about power electricity directly from Temelín. They add 4.44 CZK/kWh for distribution and the rest, i.e. almost 49%, but everyone must.
ČEZ Prodej a.s. buys electricity on the same energy stock exchange as the others. So why do the others offer lower prices? There are two possibilities. ČEZ Prodej’s margin is higher than that of the others, meaning their administrative apparatus is more bloated. Or they can’t buy electricity for their clients at the right time, which is why their price is higher.
Both scare me. If an institution like ČEZ Prodej buys electricity from its parent ČEZ a.s., and perhaps their offices are right next to each other, then I don’t understand how they can have higher prices purchased from the exchange than others. But if that’s the case, then their incompetence falls on my family. If they are the cause of their higher margins, then the impact on me is the same.
The effect of my termination was immediate. They offer favourable conditions, by phone, in writing. A special bonus for me for electricity and gas of 6,000 CZK.
What does this mean for me? If I am a regular and loyal customer, I will get a kick out of them. As soon as I terminate the contract, I am again a valued potential customer. And where did the 6,000 CZK bonus come from? Well, that is probably the amount they robbed me of as a loyal and regular customer.
And what will happen next? I am sure that it will be exactly the same. According to the motto “when they catch a bird, they sing it nicely”, the new supplier will also bake me in exactly the same way in two years. Being loyal and reliable simply doesn’t pay off.
Jiří Stanislav
April 13, 2025
