Electricity Market Act Passed with Green Support

On Thursday evening, towards the end of its plenary session, the National Council passed the Electricity Industry Act (ElWG). This was made possible because, after weeks of negotiations, the Greens were persuaded to agree at the last minute, securing the necessary two-thirds majority. The only dissatisfaction during the debate in the plenary came from the FPÖ, which identified a "sham package." The coalition factions expect relief for people and the economy.

Greens See Compromise

A compromise was found that they could live with, as former Infrastructure Minister and now Green Party Chairwoman Leonore Gewessler made clear in the evening, confirming her faction's approval. She was very pleased that the feed-in tariffs (for private individuals) planned by the coalition were now a thing of the past. A few hours earlier, energy spokesperson Lukas Hammer had already made it clear at a joint media event with coalition representatives that it would have been unacceptable for the Greens to penalize people who have invested in the energy transition with their photovoltaic systems.

The aim of the law is to distribute network costs more fairly and to develop a social tariff for around 280,000 low-income households. The coalition promises lower electricity prices as a result. However, Gewessler warned against such promises, as credibility could be lost. FPÖ representative Arnold Schiefer was convinced that the law would not make electricity cheaper for people or companies.

Nevertheless, Minister of Economic Affairs Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer (ÖVP) consistently referred to it as a "cheap electricity law" during his appearance in the National Council. He considers the amendment to be the biggest reform of the electricity market in 20 years. Negotiations were pragmatic and without ideological blinders. There is now a "price reduction guarantee," as tariff reductions must be passed on in the markets.

Expansion of Social Tariff

The minister also acknowledged the social tariff of 6 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 2,900 kilowatt hours (kWh). Following the agreement, not only the approximately 250,000 households exempt from the ORF fee benefit from this, but also several tens of thousands of unemployed and emergency assistance recipients. According to the law, the electricity industry must bear the costs of the social tariff, which amount to around 60 million euros annually. SP energy spokesperson Alois Schroll today saw the start of a more social, fairer, and more modern era in the electricity market.

ÖVP energy spokesperson Tanja Graf also spoke of the "biggest electricity market reform of the last twenty years," and Karin Doppelbauer from the NEOS praised, among other things, that battery storage is now becoming a business model and relieving the grid.

The law establishes a new legal framework for the rapidly changing electricity market on around 150 pages and in 191 paragraphs. In addition to the participation of large energy suppliers in the costs of grid expansion, peak capping for new wind and photovoltaic systems is introduced to relieve the grids. Battery storage, in turn, is exempt from grid fees if operated "system-friendly."

Wind Industry Had Criticized

The peak capping was sharply criticized by the wind industry, as it would endanger the profitability of new projects. The agreement with the Greens now stipulates that the capping affects not two, but only one percent of the annual amount. For photovoltaics, capping will now occur not at 60, but only at 70 percent.

(APA/Red)

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