The federal government is taking nearly 30 billion euros into its own hands to dampen the population’s recent sharp rise in inflation in the country. While the opposition mainly criticized the level of the charges, former Chancellor Christian Kern (SPÖ) said these were “not nearly enough”.
Kern, who now works full-time in the energy sector, warned at the start of the conflict in Ukraine that a “tsunami” was imminent. On Thursday morning, electricity prices reached an “all-time high” at 258 euros per megawatt hour, the ex-chancellor wrote on Twitter.
“It’s going to be an uncomfortable autumn”
But not only the electricity price would have reached a record high, coal was also higher than ever at $ 265 per ton. “The problem won’t go away if you close your eyes,” Kern warned, “It’s going to be an uncomfortable fall.”
He also doesn’t believe the federal government’s cost-of-living adjustment can counteract this: “Unfortunately, that’s not nearly enough,” he clarifies. He criticizes the money being distributed “in a watering can” rather than adopting “smart” and “cost-effective regulatory proposals”.
Awards for “Cartel and a few speculators”
The association is now paying a special dividend of 400 million euros because of the enormous increase in profits due to the massive price increase that consumers have taken on their shoulders, according to Kern. What would help? The pricing in the energy market urgently needs to be adjusted, Kern repeated his call to abolish the so-called merit order model.
Betting on a market where a cartel and a few speculators shift profits at the expense of the people is absurd,” Kern said.
Triple the price of gas possible
The head of the German network agency outlined where prices are headed on Thursday: Since the cut in Russian gas supplies last week, the price level has risen again by 50 percent – as a result, he believes that consumer gas prices may have tripled.
Source: Krone
I’m an experienced news author and editor based in New York City. I specialize in covering healthcare news stories for Today Times Live, helping to keep readers informed on the latest developments related to the industry. I have a deep understanding of medical topics, including emerging treatments and drugs, the changing laws that regulate healthcare providers, and other matters that affect public health.
