No intent recognizable

Public prosecutor rejects criminal complaint against EVN

(Bild: P. Huber)

Energy prices too high, too little information: that was enough for consumer advocates to file a fraud complaint against the Lower Austrian energy supplier EVN. However, they were rejected by the authorities.

Now, at the latest, it is clear why the local energy supplier EVN was relaxed about the complaint from the consumer protection association. As reported, the Vienna-based organization had filed a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption.

Association openly accused EVN of fraud
The accusation was serious: EVN had not announced impending tariff increases to its customers in accordance with the law. And it had done so deliberately, according to the statement of facts. Fraud was therefore involved. The rebuff from the authorities was swift and - to put it mildly - very clear.

Statement from the public prosecutor's office

In connection with the facts cited in the order dated 11.7.2024, no investigation proceedings were initiated pursuant to Section 35c StAG because there was no act of deception relevant under criminal law, especially since the failure to notify a tariff price adjustment to market values may violate civil law legal obligations, but is not equivalent to (active) deception about facts within the meaning of Section 2 StGB.

The WKSta's statement states that there is simply no "criminally relevant deception". At the very least, it states that "the omission of the notification of tariff price adjustments to market values may violate civil law legal obligations", but that this does not justify an investigation by the public prosecutor's office.

And: "Furthermore, no intent to unlawfully enrich the company could be established." Customers should very well have expected an increase in prices as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. The initial suspicion of intent to cause damage was therefore simply not present, the letter, which is also available to the "Krone", continues.

Adjustments were legally compliant
So nothing but expenses? EVN continues to react calmly and sees itself more than vindicated by the "judgment". "We communicated all adjustments in accordance with the law," it says succinctly. The real problem lies in the background. With the best of intentions, consumer advocates insisted that all tariff changes had to be actively confirmed by customers.

Of course, EVN has also made some mistakes in the crises of recent years. But these allegations were completely unfounded.

Stefan Zach, Unternehmenssprecher der EVN

However, this applies not only to increases, but also to reductions. The first reduction from 26.5 to 22.5 cents per kilowatt hour was approved by 30 percent of customers, while only two percent of customers responded to the next reduction to 14.9 cents within four weeks