For a single pensioner (85) from Upper Austria, the gas price rose from 166 euros per month to almost 900 euros. After deducting all fixed costs, there is no money left for everyday life.
“If I want to visit their grandfather with my children, we have to dress warmly. Due to the rising energy costs, it doesn’t really get warm anymore,” says the daughter of an 85-year-old pensioner from Feldkirchen an der Donau – who wishes to remain anonymous – desperately . At the end of the year, the single man received bad news in a letter from Energie AG: the new gas regulations amounted to almost 900 euros per month. For this he had to pay 166 euros – that is a total increase of 428 percent.
1500 euro pension is hardly enough
“We had expected an increase, but not so extreme. We have now adjusted the rate, but he still has to pay 625 euros,” says the daughter. This is a huge vice for the 85-year-old, who has to live on a monthly pension of 1,500 euros. “With the fixed costs such as electricity, insurance, meals on wheels, care services, medicines and groceries, he saves about 20 euros in a month,” says the concerned daughter.
Save where you can
The widower does not want to leave the old house, which he built himself 40 years ago and to which he associates many memories of the past. “He is now trying to save where he can. For example, he has closed off the fixed network and only heats rooms where he is actually located. Or he will forego food or urgent care in order to pay the bill in the future.” The family hopes for a gas price ceiling.
Written request to the Council of State
Rising gas prices are currently creating a large hole in the household budget of many Upper Austrians. The SPÖ in Upper Austria is now investigating and wants to know from the responsible ÖVP Energy Provincial Councilor Markus Achleitner why it has come to this in the first place. Heidi Strauss, member of the state parliament, and Sabine Engleitner-Neu, president of the club, submitted a written question about the multiplication of the gas price for household customers of Energie AG. The letter contains ten questions, some with sub-questions.
How many have been affected?
In it, the Achleitner politicians want to know how many customers of Energie-AG have been affected by the rise in gas prices since January 2. And to what extent (in percentages and in money) the monthly installments have been increased. And they hold Achleitner accountable: “What have you done so far to mitigate the increase in gas prices for household customers? What steps and measures will you take to offset the significant additional costs?”
Source: Krone
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