Details of the government’s planned electricity bill coverage are slowly becoming known. Treasury Secretary Magnus Brunner has now brought a social spread of the measure into play – the relief may vary from household to household. Meanwhile, the governor of Burgenland, Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ), again pushed for a petrol price ceiling.
For example, “if it can be administered,” one could determine that socially disadvantaged people get extra amounts of energy at a lower cost, Brunner said in the “profile” interview. On Monday, the government’s ‘crisis cabinet’ wants to inform representatives of the opposition, federal states, social partners and energy suppliers about the latest developments in the energy and inflation crisis. However, concrete decisions are not yet expected.
Certain contingent of cheap electricity
The federal government is currently working on the “electricity price brake” and plans to present a model by the end of August. “It will be invoice coverage, not price coverage,” confirmed Brunner. The general electricity price is not limited, but a certain amount of electricity is subsidized per household.
How large this amount is is still being calculated, “we will probably start from the statistical average consumption”. Households pay a fixed rate for this, which is far below the market price, explains Brunner. The normal market price is then due for consumption above that.
Link to GIS rate?
“If I have my way, you should have social levels there,” Brunner said. But this depends on the model, “it’s hard to say at the moment,” he said. The model currently under discussion would reduce the burden on people living in small, low-consumption apartments more in percentage terms than higher earners in large, high-consumption homes – because low earners have a greater share of their electricity consumption below the reduced price.
But he also favored additional social components, Brunner said: “For example, you could stipulate that socially disadvantaged people would get extra amounts of energy at a lower price. That could be all those who are exempt from the ORF GIS fee.”
Doskozil: Petrol costs no more than 1.50 euros
The governor of Burgenland, Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ), insisted on a petrol price ceiling on ORF radio on Saturday: “The federal government should intervene here, limit it to 1.50 euros and halve taxes,” he demanded. According to Doskozil, this would be a “mixed variant of interventions” in which the market is still allowed to a certain extent, but on the other hand tax relief is provided.
That this would not be targeted and not an ecological motive is irrelevant to Doskozil: “I believe that we are now in a situation and the whole price increase has reached a dynamic where we no longer have to talk about steering effects.” effects and CO₂ Making pricing negotiable “in my view is completely wrong” and “going wrong”, now it is about relieving the burden on the population.
Finance Minister Brunner also did not want to be pinned down in the “profile” about the entry into force of the already deferred CO₂ tax in the autumn. “It is legitimate to question measures in this extraordinary situation.”
Source: Krone
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