Consumers caught in the costly energy network

With the electricity and gas prices, you go up again after a break. However, consumers can only mitigate the higher costs to a limited extent.

Anyone who receives mail from their energy provider these days can feel like they are electrified. Because the prices for electricity and gas have increased again. The problem will also be the subject of the next federal government. The courier explains the reasons for the increase and what consumers can do.

Why are the energy prices grow again now?

On the one hand, the support measures of the last federal government ended in the area at the end of the year. This includes, among other things, the electricity price brake or the exposure of the funding contributions for renewable energies. On the other hand, network tariffs for electricity rose by 23 percent (gas 17 percent) at the beginning of the year. The bottom line is that the energy costs increase by a few hundred euros a year depending on the size of the house.

Why do the network costs rise so much?

53 billion euros in investments are required for the expansion and conversion of the power grids with the aim of climate neutrality by 2040. Network fees are currently highest where a lot of investments are made in the renewable expansion.

The respective fees are redefined annually by the regulator E-Control according to the investment and operating costs registered by the network operators. Households must pay the network charges either as separate items with the electricity and gas bill or separately from it directly to the network operator.

Why can’t customers choose the network provider freely?

In contrast to the energy provider, a free choice of the network operator is not possible. The basis for this is the liberalization of the energy market in the EU countries in 2000. At that time, network and generation were separated. There are currently 114 electricity and 19 gas network operators in Austria, each of which is responsible for a specific supply area.

Are private customers asked more to checkout at the network costs?

Households are responsible for around 27 percent of electricity consumption, but have to bear 44 percent of the network costs. According to e-control, this has a good reason. Because the connection of over four million households to the network (low voltage) makes up a large part of the network route with 70 percent.

According to the regulator, the amount of electricity is not so important for the costs than the route length and control of the – also increasingly volatile – performance at the level of households.

How does politics react to the price increases?

The National Council could have renewed support measures in a new composition in autumn, but did not do so. In January, FPÖ and ÖVP rejected an application from the SPÖ to relieve the energy prices.

What can consumers do in this situation?

You can switch to a cheaper supplier. On the website e-control.at or through viewer.at, for example, there are comparison calculators. In addition, customers are classified incorrectly by the energy companies and they pay too much in advance. A new assessment can be requested at any time. Private people are increasingly also helping to install PV systems for partial self-sufficiency or by means of renewable energy communities (EEG)-the network costs are also lower.