The energy crisis with its massive price fluctuations has been overcome, but there is still no time to rest, warns Oesterreichs Energie, the industry association for the electricity industry. In its “Future Pact for Austria” presented on Wednesday, the industry reaffirmed its plans to restructure the electricity system. Politicians are also called upon to act, because only they can create the appropriate framework conditions – regardless of who governs after the National Council elections in the autumn.
“We have had very turbulent years,” said Michael Strugl CEO of Verbund and President of Oesterreichs Energie. “But we also have challenging times ahead of us.”
As part of the energy transition, the system will have to be massively restructured during ongoing operations. If fossil fuels are to be gradually replaced by electricity, preferably from renewable sources, this will mean high investments. According to Oesterreichs Energie’s estimates, around twice as much electricity will be needed by 2040, but the installed generation capacity will have to be tripled to achieve this.
Added to this are the costs of expanding the infrastructure, as this also presents new challenges for networks and storage. For consumers, this means that electricity will not become cheaper in the foreseeable future.
“The sun is not sending us a bill is a completely false statement,” said Barbara Schmidt Secretary General of Oesterreichs Energie. Because the restructuring of the energy system “of course costs money”
Although the increased use of technologies such as photovoltaics is reducing production costs, system costs are also increasing. Network costs already account for around a third of the electricity bill, and this share could increase.
Demands on politics
Schmidt wants politics to create a space that is as “ideology-free” as possible. The goal of climate neutrality is actually clear, said Strugl, and concrete steps to implement it are “not rocket science”: accelerating and simplifying approval procedures, legally anchoring an “overriding public interest” for renewable energy infrastructure, passing the largely negotiated new Electricity Industry Act (ElWG) and the Renewable Energy Expansion Acceleration Act.
In order to simplify coordination between the industry and politics, Oesterreichs Energie would like to see the necessary competencies pooled in one ministry. At the moment, it is sometimes necessary to negotiate with three different authorities in parallel, says Strugl, describing the situation.