From January 1, 2025, members of the “Burgenland Energy Independent Fan Club” can purchase electricity generated by wind and sun at a fixed price of 10 cents/kWh. Governor Doskozil speaks of an “energy community model that is unique in Europe”.
During the climate dialogue in Eisenstadt, Governor Hans Peter Doskozil and Stephan Sharma, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Burgenland Energie, discussed with Minister of Climate Protection Leonore Gewessler the topic of how we can “master the energy transition together”. The gentlemen then announced a ‘revolution in the electricity market’, as Sharma puts it. Doskozil speaks of a “model of an energy community that is unique in Europe”.
The weather must cooperate
Because the federal government’s heat price ceiling and electricity price ceiling expire at the end of the year, an average household in Austria can expect an additional annual burden of 300 to 400 euros. That is not the case in Burgenland, where electricity could even become significantly cheaper from January 1, 2025, provided the weather cooperates and you become a member of the “Burgenland Energy Independent Fan Club”. The monthly amount for this is four euros.
No index adjustment, no binding
This is how it works: when the sun shines or the wind blows in the country, the electricity produced by Burgenland Energie’s wind and photovoltaic systems is made available directly to the members. The fixed price for a kilowatt hour is 10 cents, guaranteed for 20 years, without index adjustment and without obligation. Surplus electricity is compensated with a feed-in tariff of 7 cents/kWh. Anyone who charges their electric car at an energy station in Burgenland pays as little as at home. In the event of rain or no wind, members also pay the normal rate of currently 14.9 cents/kWh.
The electricity generated by wind and sun – currently 60 percent of the total need – is distributed fairly among all members with a measuring point in Burgenland. You do not necessarily have to be a Burgenland Energie customer to become a member of the fan club.
Criticism from the ÖVP and the Greens
“Instead of offering lasting solutions, the governor is relying on the short term to make a political name,” said Christian Sagartz, chairman of the ÖVP state party. “Anyone who claims they can guarantee a stable price for 20 years is ignoring the reality of volatile energy markets.”
Green club chairman Anja Haider-Wallner is in favor of renaming the new club “Fan club Burgenland, independent of reality”. Because: “If you create an energy community throughout Burgenland, you have to go into the networks. And making promises in a few years is extremely questionable.”
Info and details: www.fcbe.at
Source: Krone
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