Chaos surrounding the new electricity law: FPÖ warns of rising electricity prices!

Chaos surrounding the new electricity law: FPÖ warns of rising electricity prices!

In Austria, a new draft law to regulate the electricity industry is currently the focus of political debate. As a successor to the existing Electricity Industry and Organization Act (ElWOG), the Electricity Industry Act (ElWG) is intended to set the course for a transformation of the energy sector towards renewable energies. Loud meinkreis.at A draft was submitted for review, which was presented before the upcoming parliamentary summer break.

The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) sharply criticizes the proposed draft and describes the change in the energy industry as “chaos”. This negative assessment is based, among other things, on the fear that the new regulations will lead to an increase in electricity costs. FPÖ energy spokesman Dieter Dorner warns that medium-sized businesses, families and small businesses in particular have to bear the brunt, while large industry is spared from the burden.

Criticism of new regulations and their effects

Dorner emphasizes that additional subsidies and social tariffs that could be introduced through the Electricity Industry Act will not be borne directly by the energy companies, but will be passed on to consumers through increasing network and electricity fees. In addition, the FPÖ criticizes the planned new network fees and power prices, which could penalize users of photovoltaic systems, heat pumps and electric cars.

Another point of controversy is access to smart meter data, which the FPÖ sees as a massive invasion of consumer privacy. The changes to the law mean that the option to reject problematic electricity meters will no longer be available and instead only an opt-out will remain possible. This regulation raises concerns about surveillance and dependence on network operators.

Planned changes and their legal basis

How parliament.gv.at reported, the ministerial draft also includes a definition of energy poverty and provides for changes to the Energy Control Act. In the future, there will no longer be a general option to reject intelligent measuring devices, but only an option to opt-out for certain systems, such as heat pumps and charging stations.

The planned changes also stipulate that the quarter-hour values ​​will be transmitted daily. The exchange of data will be expanded to enable its use for billing, energy efficiency, statistics and network operation. Data transfers to Statistics Austria are legalized and use for research purposes is also permitted. The Ministry may issue orders regarding the use of this data.

The FPÖ calls for a planned move away from Russian gas and a stop to the so-called “Austrian gold plating” in the implementation of EU directives. At the same time, it is open to the expansion of geothermal energy and calls for realistic goals in terms of CO2 neutrality.