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ACQUITTAL JUDGMENTS FOR ELECTRICITY THEFT – LAWYER

Electricity Theft: Legal Defence & Technical Analysis of the Indictment

The charge of electricity theft (Article 372 of the Penal Code (PK)) is no longer a minor infraction. With the recent amendments, the criminal sanctions are stricter and the financial demands of HEDNO (DEDDIE) are crippling. In such cases, legal defence alone is not enough—what is required is technical correlation.

It is not enough simply to pay the fine in order to be exempted from the sentence and have the General Criminal Record show “0”, because the Judicial Criminal Record will state that you have committed Electricity Theft, and if you are tried again, for any reason whatsoever, you will not benefit from the mitigating circumstance of a prior law-abiding life (IMPORTANT — you never know what life will bring!).

CAUTION also: Do not file an opposition on your own; you do not know what is admissible in the criminal trial that will inevitably follow, because in doing so you would undermine your defence counsel in the criminal trial on the charge of electricity theft.

Why is our approach unique?

In electricity theft cases, the “key” to acquittal lies in the meter and the on-site inspection report.

  • Dual Capacity: Dimitris Ziamparas, as a Criminal Law Specialist (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens) and a former qualified Electrical Engineer (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), possesses the rare ability to “read” the technical findings behind the words.

  • Challenging the Inspection: We do not accept HEDNO’s report as gospel. We analyse whether the damage to the meter is actually due to human intervention or to technical failure, ageing, and environmental factors.

  • Technical Expert Examination: We work with specialists to demonstrate whether the “unrecorded energy” corresponds to the actual consumption of your property.

Our Strategy on the Criminal Side

Our defence focuses on disproving intent and culpability:

  1. Lack of Culpability: Electricity theft is often attributed to the owner, when in fact it may have been committed by a previous tenant or a third party.

  2. Challenging the Amount: HEDNO frequently calculates arbitrarily large amounts of “stolen” energy. Our technical intervention aims at drastically reducing these claims.

  3. Temporary Restraining Order: Action to restore the electricity supply in cases where the disconnection threatens the survival of your business or your family.

“In electricity theft, HEDNO is both the accuser and the ‘technical judge’. We restore the balance of power by scrutinising the technical truth of the accusation.”

Do not leave your case without technical coverage

A wrong technical concession may lead to a conviction. Start the right defence today.

In greater detail:

Our office has secured a number of acquittal judgments in electricity theft cases, usually on the following grounds: 1) Full payment of the total amount owed by the offender. 2) Submission by the defendant charged with electricity theft that he himself did not commit the act, since he was not the last user of the property. 3) Reliance on erroneous measurements taken by HEDNO, which on a case-by-case basis may be accepted by the Court. By way of example, the following judgment: Acquittal Judgment – Electricity Theft.

The phenomenon of electricity theft is common, since any tampering with the electricity provider’s meter leaves traces. Electricity theft, as a criminally punishable act, is committed in various ways, the most common of which are: 1) tampering with the HEDNO meter so that it shows altered consumption lower than the actual one, 2) bypassing the meter by directly connecting the line to the supply cable of the installation, and 3) unauthorised reconnection to a disconnected supply that is not represented by a Supplier. As to the penalty, electricity theft is punishable criminally with imprisonment of up to three years or a monetary penalty, and if the object of the theft is of particularly high value or the act was committed with breaking and entering, with imprisonment of at least one year and a monetary penalty. The authorities always seek out accomplices or the names of technicians who, having been engaged and paid, tampered with the metering device on behalf of the user.

In any event, obtaining legal advice from a specialised lawyer is essential. In particular, when you are served with the HEDNO document entitled “Finding of electricity theft on supply No….“, you must react legally without delay, as follows:

OPPOSITION TO THE ELECTRICITY THEFT FINDING

You have the right to file a substantiated opposition with relevant supporting evidence within three (3) months from the receipt of that document, in order for your case to be re-examined. However, exercising this right does not suspend your obligation to settle your debt — that is, to pay the certified amounts within the prescribed deadlines — nor does it suspend HEDNO’s right to deactivate your supply connection in the event of non-compliance.

ADMINISTRATIVE LIABILITY FOR ELECTRICITY THEFT

Electricity theft is also punishable by an administrative fine, calculated for the period during which an unjustified reduction in consumption is observed; the fine is imposed in the form of a surcharge on the electricity bill. This means that the stolen kilowatt-hours will be charged at 255 euros per megawatt-hour (a 70% surcharge over the normal tariff) and 120 euros (a 50% surcharge) for beneficiaries of the Social Residential Tariff (KOT) and persons enrolled in the “Social Solidarity Income” programme. In addition, the offender will be charged with HEDNO’s costs for detecting the electricity theft, ranging from 300 to 750 euros depending on the type of supply. The administrative sanction is challenged legally by filing a Petition before the competent Administrative Court of First Instance.

CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR ELECTRICITY THEFT

HEDNO files a criminal complaint, which entails the initiation of criminal prosecution against you, and which proceeds independently and is not interrupted by any simultaneous payment of the fine on your part. The criminal procedure continues as follows: After the criminal complaint is filed, the offender is summoned to the police station or to the Magistrate’s Court for petty offences in the area of his residence: a) to provide explanations (before charges are brought), which may be either oral or written, and b) to file a defence memorandum (after charges are brought). At this stage, it is critical to underline that being represented by a lawyer is of decisive importance, since any explanations given before charges are brought against you may be used against you in court. Once the foregoing procedure — known as the police preliminary investigation — has been completed, you are served with the bill of indictment summons, by which you are also notified of the date of trial of the criminal charge for the offence of theft of electrical energy, either before the Single-Member or the Three-Member Misdemeanour Court of the offender’s place of residence.

CIVIL LIABILITY FOR ELECTRICITY THEFT

HEDNO’s claim by way of lawsuit seeking pecuniary compensation for the moral damages it has suffered due to the commission against it of the offences of continuous electricity theft and the breaking of seals by the respondent.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON ELECTRICITY THEFT

1. What are the criminal sanctions for electricity theft?

Electricity theft is prosecuted as theft under Article 372 of the Penal Code. The penalties start with imprisonment, and if the value of the electricity exceeds 120,000 euros, the offence is upgraded to a felony. In addition, HEDNO imposes excessive charges for the “unrecorded energy”, which are often calculated using strict coefficients.

2. Can payment of the debt to HEDNO halt the criminal prosecution?

Pursuant to Article 381 §4 of the Penal Code, full satisfaction of the injured party (HEDNO) prior to the issuance of the first-instance judgment may lead to the extinguishment of the punishability of the act or to release from the sentence, depending on the timing of the payment. However, whether you pay or not, the criminal trial will take place. By paying the fine, you will be released from the sentence and the General Criminal Record will show “0”, but the Judicial Criminal Record (which is seen only by judges) will state that you have committed Electricity Theft, and if you are tried again, for any reason whatsoever, you will not benefit from the mitigating circumstance of a prior law-abiding life (you never know what life will bring!). CAUTION also: Do not file an opposition on your own, because you do not know what your line of defence in the criminal trial will be; you must consult a lawyer who is familiar with electricity theft cases.

3. How can a lawyer-engineer help in an electricity theft case?

Electricity theft is based on technical findings (e.g. broken seals, jumpers in the wiring). A lawyer with an Engineering background can deconstruct HEDNO’s technical report, verify the accuracy of the measurements, and identify whether the energy loss is due to a technical fault in the meter or in the network rather than to the consumer’s intent.

4. What happens if the owner did not know about the electricity theft (e.g. in a leased property)?

In criminal proceedings, proof of intent is required. If the owner can prove that the tampering with the meter was carried out by a third party (e.g. a previous occupant or tenant) without his knowledge or consent, he may obtain an acquittal. Technical expert examination is here decisive in determining the time of the tampering.

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