End of Electricity Price Cap "Fundamental Mistake"

"To lift the electricity price cap right now and burden a private household with an additional 500 euros per year is incomprehensible to anyone," the Billa/Bipa group CEO told the "Kurier" (Monday edition). Attac and Volkshilfe demanded "immediate measures" in a press release in view of rising energy prices next year.

From January, electricity and gas network costs will increase significantly and the levies, which were reduced to a minimum during the energy crisis, will be fully applicable again. The turquoise-green government had reduced the electricity tax and the renewable energy contribution to the minimum allowed by the EU at the beginning of 2022 and introduced an electricity cost subsidy at the end of 2022. For the past two years, households had to pay only 10 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for up to 2,900 kWh of electricity consumption. Under the electricity price cap, energy suppliers initially received a subsidy of up to 30 cents per kWh and then a maximum of 15 cents from July 2024. The electricity cost subsidy was originally supposed to expire in March 2024. The government then extended the measure once until June and finally until the end of 2024.

Rewe Austria CEO Appeals to the Government

The CEO of Rewe Austria is now appealing to the government not to let electricity prices "run rampant". "People are already very insecure, worried about wars and bankruptcies, and now the next avalanche of energy costs is threatening." Now "consumption really needs to be stimulated". The Billa/Bipa group CEO wants structural relief in energy prices. "Before the last energy price shock, I also told political representatives that the problem needs to be tackled at the root," says the trade manager. "That didn't happen and it doesn't seem to be happening now."

As a short-term measure, Attac and Volkshilfe Austria demand that the rising network usage fees also be financed by the energy corporations. For this, a change in the Electricity Industry and Organisation Act (ElWOG) is necessary, according to the two NGOs in a joint press release. "Another increase in electricity prices would be devastating for people with low incomes and would have dramatic social consequences," warned Erich Fenninger, the director of Volkshilfe Austria. In addition, the two organisations are pushing for an improvement and extension of the electricity price cap. "The regional suppliers alone made a profit of around 2.5 billion euros in 2023," says Attac representative Hanna Braun.

(APA/Red)

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