VfGH Decision: Revenue Cap for Electricity Producers was Constitutional

The Burgenland state government and several affected electricity producers had lodged a complaint against the revenue cap for electricity producers with the Austrian Constitutional Court (VfGH). The application was dismissed as unfounded, the VfGH announced in a press release.

VfGH Sees No Violations in Revenue Cap for Electricity Producers

The so-called Federal Act on the Energy Crisis Contribution-Electricity (EKBSG) implemented an EU emergency regulation, which limited the revenues from the sale of electricity from certain sources, such as renewable energy. The regulation was in effect from December 2022 to June 2023, according to the press release on Thursday. In their complaint, the Burgenland state government and the electricity producers argued that this regulation violated the principle of equality, as it only applied to electricity producers, but not, for example, to electricity traders or district heating suppliers, who also benefited from rising prices in the energy sector.

It is "within the legislative discretion to impose a levy on the surplus revenues of electricity producers for a limited period in response to a massive disruption of the electricity market," the VfGH ruled. The fact that electricity traders were not subject to the levy does not pose a problem from the court's point of view, as their business model differs significantly from that of electricity producers. The retroactive introduction of the revenue cap - the law came into force retroactively to the first of the month at the end of December 2022 - did not violate the constitutional principle of protection of trust, as the earlier collection of the contribution was justified due to the necessary implementation of the EU emergency regulation.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.