Who lives in Vienna pays the most for district heating
There are enormous differences in district heating tariffs in Austria. According to an analysis by the consulting network Kreutzer Fischer & Partner, the costs for existing tariffs range from 437 euros per year in Burgenland to 1,602 euros in Vienna - a price difference of almost 270 percent. For new connections, the range is from 588 euros in Carinthia to also 1,602 euros in Vienna (plus 170 percent). At Wien Energie, the figures are "partly not comprehensible".
Kreutzer Fischer & Partner examined more than 900 end customer tariffs for district and local heating, calculated for a 75-square-meter apartment with eight kilowatts of connection value and including 20 percent VAT. The data comes from the transparency database www.waermepreise.at, which has been operated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs since the end of 2023 and is content-managed by the Austrian Energy Agency.
Wien Energie defends itself: Comparing apples and oranges
According to Wien Energie, however, the analysis compares "apples and oranges". For example, the most expensive tariff stated for Vienna is not a Wien Energie tariff and does not concern classic district heating. The comparison platform waermepreise.at lists all district and local heating providers in Austria, from local plants to large cities. "These can be gas boilers that only supply one building, biomass heating boilers with only a few connected houses, or, in the case of Vienna, a 1,300-kilometer-long district heating network with hundreds of thousands of consumers. Accordingly, the conditions differ, from the cost structure for heat production and networks to any subsidies," says a statement from Wien Energie to the APA.
Compared to other large cities in Austria, Wien Energie's district heating is among the cheaper providers. The majority of their customers are subject to the official price notice, where the annual costs currently amount to 974 euros. Some values are also not included in the overview. For example, the most expensive tariff in Lower Austria is stated as 1,096 euros - yet there are significantly more expensive heating and cooling tariffs in St. Pölten. "In this respect, we cannot comprehend the listing."
Industry association: Distorted picture of the industry
The Gas Heat Association (FGW) also contradicts the representation by Kreutzer Fischer & Partner. "The listing is flawed and incomplete, and overall it creates a distorted picture of the industry," it says in a response. The listing lacks the tariffs of many Austrian heat suppliers. In addition, small plants and large interconnected networks with tens of thousands of households are lumped together.
Price Differences Between Federal States Very Large
Kreutzer Fischer & Partner have, according to their own statements, "calculated averages and indicated ranges," values at the upper and lower ends have therefore been partially omitted. A provider in Türnitz (Lower Austria) even charges only 210 euros per year - this "discount price" was not considered in the analysis. "It does not change the fact that the price differences between the federal states are very large," said Andreas Kreutzer to the APA.
The spread is explosive because, unlike electricity or gas, consumers cannot switch district heating providers. The supply is tied to local networks, which are mostly owned by the heat suppliers. In Vienna, where a connection to district heating can also be partially mandated in new buildings, the price level is the highest in comparison to other federal states.
FPÖ and Greens: Ludwig Should Intervene
According to FPÖ city councilor Dominik Nepp, the people of Vienna are "being downright fleeced by Mayor Michael Ludwig with excessive tariffs." Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) would be empowered to act as a price regulator "to immediately end this price gouging with just one signature."
The head of the Vienna Greens, Peter Kraus, also called on Mayor Ludwig to intervene in district heating prices. The expensive district heating in Vienna is "the result of Mayor Ludwig's approval of past price increases."
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.