The Economic Committee approved the brake on electricity prices on Wednesday with the votes of the ÖVP, FPÖ and the Greens. Accordingly, electricity costs for households up to 2900 kWh per year are supported for a limited period of time. Low-income households should also receive a 75 percent network cost subsidy.
From December 1 to June 30, 2024, the subsidy will automatically run through the electricity supplier if the electricity price exceeds the lower limit of 10 cents/kWh. The price share that is above this must be compensated up to an upper limit of 40 cents/kWh.
Network cost subsidy for low-income households
In addition to the electricity cost subsidy, low-income households will receive a 75 percent grid cost subsidy between January 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. However, this is limited to 200 euros per year and must be capped for shorter periods. The households that are also exempt from the GIS fee are eligible.
Gewessler: “Fast and uncomplicated”
For 2023, approximately 2.73 billion euros is budgeted for electricity and grid cost subsidies and approximately 1.09 billion euros for 2024. For the government, Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) praised the measure as “fast and uncomplicated”. The SPÖ also called for natural gas to be taken into account. The NEOS considers the measure “excessive”, after all, it also supports high-income households.
Fixed energy cost subsidy for companies
Also, the energy cost subsidy for companies of 1.3 billion euros was launched. The ÖVP and the Greens want to preserve the liquidity of the companies. Companies whose energy costs amount to at least three percent of their turnover can apply for the subsidy. This threshold of three percent does not apply to companies with an annual turnover of less than 700,000 euros.
Source: Krone
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