Tyrolean AK chairman: – “Tiwag shuns transparency like the devil shuns holy water!”

“crown”: The Labor Chamber has the power and also the means to take the energy suppliers to court in an emergency and now wants to do so. What is the meaning behind this model lawsuit?
Erwin Zangerl: It is about the necessary transparency, which we urgently demand, but which has so far been denied us. Tiwag now has four weeks to object. Then we see how she justifies her approach. It is not about avoiding necessary price increases. What matters is that Tiwag openly says what additional costs it should raise prices for. It’s about showing the Tiwag why they need to raise the price. The main point is transparency. And energy suppliers shun them like the plague.

Is the AK Tirol now a pioneer with the lawsuit? In fact, the federal task force should rein in all of the state’s energy suppliers. Some of them even have higher prices.
Everyone, including myself, is captivated by the argument that Tyrol has the cheapest electricity price. It now appears that the Tiwag has already earned very well with its prices. And that it was only used to make a profit, which then ends up somewhere. Yes, we are pioneers in this field. The other federal states are now waiting to see how things will turn out in Tyrol.

Can anyone actually be familiar with electricity prices – except maybe AK experts?
Both internal and external experts were unable to explain the general terms and conditions. There were originally three ways Tiwag could raise prices. Those were our starting points. We then commissioned the report. The result was not surprising, even the expert struggled to understand the increase in the price of electricity. Due to the lack of transparency, the electricity price increases are not allowed at all. Instead of seeing this, the energy suppliers tried to incite their own employees against the AK. That gives a deep insight. There’s a lot going on there. And now they are trying with all their might to prevent transparency and even try to put pressure on the AK. But we’re certainly not going to give in to that.

Provincial Governor Anton Mattle, representing the owner, says corporate law prevents interference in Tiwag’s electricity prices. The Supervisory Board can do this at any time.
Naturally. This is now a process that is slowly getting under way and will lead to changes.

Now the public utilities in Hall and Wörgl are being celebrated for lowering electricity prices. However, they are still above what Tiwag is asking for, even after the increase.
The fundamental problem of the community power plants is again in the Tiwag area as they sell electricity at market prices to most suppliers. And that is why I say that we need a Tyrolean electricity solution that guarantees reasonable electricity prices throughout Tyrol. We will introduce this motion along with that of the amendment to the Tiwag Statute to the General Assembly next week and send it to the state after the resolution is passed. Then it is up to the state parliament to help the amendment to the statutes and the Tyrolean electricity solution achieve a breakthrough.

How many providers are there in Tyrol?
It is also a Tyrolean specialty that we have many suppliers. That is why we need an electricity solution that involves all providers. That’s why we fight.

You have massively criticized “greed inflation”. What kind of responses did you get?
You could see from the reaction of the federal politicians that they believe that we all live in luxury and can do everything without it. What is overlooked, however, is that some people only have the choice between eating or heating. This is the bitter reality. And with the subsidies, they unfortunately also have an inflation-increasing effect. The key is to lower prices. And energy is the main driver next to renting and groceries. If you don’t get that under control, inflation won’t go down either. Now is the time for something to be done and done about it. Action must be taken.

Why is the AK committed to electricity and gas prices and ignores the fact that the price of gas, for example, is not falling at the same rate as the price of oil?
We turned to the Federal Competition Authority on the pellets, which has been investigating for over a year. We have intervened in the field of district heating. We also look at gas prices. It is not possible to just raise prices in isolation from everything, and that in a crisis in which people are up to their necks in water. And I guarantee everyone: we will continue to fight these injustices with the means at our disposal.