As reported in detail, the City of Vienna has submitted an application to the Ministry of Finance for an energy protection shield. The “Krone” now has the accompanying letter from the office of Alderman Peter Hanke (SPÖ). It asks for an amount of six billion euros, of which two billion is the best today.
Two billion euros “in the course of today, but no later than 12:00 tomorrow.” What almost sounds like a blackmail letter has a serious background: it is the official request for help from the city council for Economic Affairs to the federal government (see facsimiles below). Payments must be made directly to the city of Vienna, which will then forward them directly to Wiener Stadtwerke or Wien Energie.
Financing need “greatly increased”
The reason for the explosive request is again the effects of the energy crisis. In a two-year comparison, natural gas has become 2,900 percent more expensive and electricity 1,940 percent, the letter continues. As a result, the financing requirement “has risen sharply”.
The letter in full:
The fairly strong cash injection should be used to deposit the securities needed for the purchase on the power exchange. The city also explains the urgency of the large sums of money, formulated so casually – they must be received “on the same day”. Although it is still possible to provide 1.75 billion euros before August 29, the uncertain market situation now requires support from the Federal Finance Agency.
The federal government has already promised six billion
This “financial emergency” in the energy sector has been causing a stir since Sunday evening. Exploding electricity prices have significantly increased trading deposits on the power exchanges. The Ministry of Finance estimates the aid needed at six billion euros. In addition, Wien Energie has already received money from the city of Vienna in order to continue to guarantee security of supply in the future.
Meanwhile, Wien Energie tried Monday to dispel rumors that the company would be insolvent. The markets are not working at the moment, Wien Energy Commissioner Peter Weinelt explains to various media. Politicians must take countermeasures here, as has already happened in Germany, for example, where a utility loan umbrella has been set up to protect themselves against such situations.
Source: Krone
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