Wien Energie has now repaid half of the loan that the city has made available to it, namely 700 million euros. That reports alderman for Finance Peter Hanke (SPÖ) on Tuesday. The city has provided a total of 1.4 billion euros for security payments on the energy exchanges, the so-called margin payments. Hanke emphasized that it is still unclear how the situation will develop.
The company’s support caused quite a stir over the summer. Because the federal government also had to intervene, making 2 billion euros available here. Hanke was pleased that 700 million euros could now be returned – “a large amount that reflects the market, which is characterized by ups and downs”.
Hanke: The federal credit line hasn’t been touched yet
The market has developed “very positively” recently. “It also means that to this day we haven’t had to touch the federal line of credit.” But the situation could change again, he added. It is impossible to say what the subject will look like in a month.
No big impact on budget feared
According to Hanke, major effects on the city budget are not to be expected. The budget for the coming year no longer needs to be approved anyway – since last year it was decided on a double budget for 2022 and 2023. However, the current development, namely the situation on the energy markets and the war in Ukraine, has led to a change in the budget figures.
Lines of credit must be repaid by November 2023
According to Hanke, these should be optimized “if necessary”. However, the loans are lines of credit that must be repaid in November 2023. “At the decision-making level, this has no consequences.” Additional budgeting is not planned. There are only temporary consequences, for example in the capital calculation. The loans were reported as current receivables and the financing debts as liabilities.
“Of course we will continuously monitor the development of the margin payments,” Hanke promised. In any case, great importance is attached to paying off “as soon as possible”. The development of Wien Energie would currently speak in favor of this. Because inflation has increased income. “This means that we can stick to our budget due to the current situation.” Hanke promised to report in writing to the finance committee.
Source: Krone
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