ENERGY LAW

Such a specific and sophisticated area of business activity as the energy industry usually requires the professional legal assistance of an attorney - a specialist primarily focused on energy law and other directly related legal areas (typically corporate law; securities issuance - corporate bonds, shares, equity certificate, share certificate, etc.; personal data protection; labour law).

We have just such specialists in our law firm. Their primary areas of practice are Hradec Králové, Olomouc and Prague.

We can be of particular benefit to your business by providing comprehensive legal advice in all sub-areas of energy law. In this way, we already assist clients from the ranks of manufacturers, distributors (including local distributors), suppliers and intermediaries in the energy sectors in their business activities.

We can help you if you are facing any of the following issues.

Legal relations related to the commencement, actual performance or termination of the licensed activity in the energy sector

• analysis and selection of a suitable form of business, establishment and formation of a business corporation, including representation in negotiations with the relevant institutions
• ensuring a business authorization (license, trade license), including preparation and completion of documentation to prove legal capacity and integrity, professional competence, financial and technical prerequisites, ownership or use rights to energy equipment, etc.
• ensuring a change or extension of the business authorisation, ensuring the continuation of the licensed activity for a successor in the event of the transformation of a legal entity or death of a natural person
• advising on the ongoing fulfilment of specific legal obligations arising from the national and European legislation in the field of energy
• setting up and reviewing contractual documentation with other energy market participants - connection contracts, energy supply contracts, energy supply service agreements, power purchase agreements from PV plants, etc.
• coordination of the process of termination of the licensed activity (termination of the licence, transfer of part of the business establishment, assignment of contracts to a third party, etc.), or coordination of the process of dissolution (with or without liquidation) and termination of the business corporation

Protection of rights in proceedings before state authorities

• representation during an inspection by the Energy Regulatory Office (ERO) or the State Energy Inspectorate (SEI) - analysis of the initial situation, proposal for elimination of identified deficiencies, negotiations with the ERO or SEI and supervision of the lawful conduct of the inspection, defence against the inspection report in the form of objections to the inspection findings
• representation in administrative proceedings following an inspection - negotiations with the ERO or SEI, supervision of the lawful conduct of the inspection, filing of appeals
• representation in disputes with other energy market participants before the courts and the Energy Regulatory Authority
• representation in disputes with state authorities before the courts
• defence in overcompensation audits - representation in sectoral investigations, in SEI audits, in follow-up proceedings for fines or measures against overcompensation

Any other legal issues that by their nature fall into the category of corporate law, corporate bond issuance, data protection (GDPR) or labour law.

What have we already written about?

• Unilateral increase in energy prices by supplier
• Rights of the Energy Regulatory Office in on-site investigations at business premises pursuant to Section 18b of the Energy Act and their limits (Part I. , Part II. , Part III. ) 
• Particulars of the billing of electricity and gas supplies made under an electricity and gas supply contract
• Change in the person responsible for the performance of licensed activities in the energy sector 
• Obligation to ensure that customers are informed about the European Energy Consumer Checklist 

What have we helped our clients with?

We have set up a process of electronic conclusion of energy supply contracts, thanks to which the energy supplier acts without the cooperation of an intermediary and has the whole process of concluding an energy supply contract under its control.

We have prepared a bond issue for energy suppliers. This gave them the opportunity to finance the implementation of their new projects in the energy sector in a different way than by accepting and fulfilling the conditions of loan financing from the bank.

We successfully defended our client, an intermediary in the energy sector, in proceedings before the ERO against the incorrect assessment of its activities as an aggressive business practice, for which it should have been fined millions of euros in administrative proceedings.

We have also represented intermediaries in the energy sectors in defending against unfair competitive conduct by another intermediary, which took place via internet publication.

We represented municipalities, towns and their organisations (especially schools) in court proceedings against energy suppliers with whom the energy sector intermediary, Energie pod kontrolou, o.p.s., concluded supply contracts on behalf of clients.