His government partner expects a “ruthless clarification” of all the events that led to the fatal turbulence at Wien Energie, including rescue requests to the federal government. The opposition has already shot at him, the FPÖ threatens to report abuse of office. Mayor Michael Ludwig has now spoken out about the cause and emphasized that security of supply for Wien Energie customers has never been compromised. It is “nothing special” that the federal government is suddenly demanding guarantees, which are only used to “bridge liquidity bottlenecks”. You can watch the press conference, which is still ongoing, live above.
According to Ludwig, “almost all states” have used the resources of the Federal Finance Agency in recent years. It’s about “no special rescue”. There are no secrets either, so the city’s Court of Auditors ordered a special audit. As part of a German-style rescue package, 1.4 billion euros in loans to Wien Energie have already been approved in two tranches.
While negotiations between the federal government and the city of Vienna on the details of the rescue are still ongoing, the Court of Auditors has already announced that Wien Energie will be audited. “In particular, the energy trading business and the owner’s role should be explored,” it said. Wien Energie GmbH is a 100 percent subsidiary of Wiener Stadtwerke and is therefore indirectly owned by the City of Vienna.
With a view to possible speculative transactions at Wien Energie, Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) called for a quick clarification. The city of Vienna has agreed to cooperate in this.
Source: Krone
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