The extreme price increases affect the ski areas enormously and therefore all winter sports enthusiasts. The production of artificial snow will be more expensive than ever before. Many cable car operators therefore hope for help from politicians.
“I love skiing! Every winter I get on and off the slopes and in times like this I’m willing to pay a little more for it.” Countless Carinthians agree on this. Ski resorts such as Nassfeld require up to 9,000 megawatt hours of electricity per season for snowmaking, lifts and cable cars and for grooming the slopes.
An example: in February 2021, the ski area would have to pay 351,000 euros for electricity at a rate of 39 euros per megawatt hour. At a megawatt hour price of 270 euros, 2.43 million euros would have to be paid today.
Ski areas join forces
“The Salzburg ski areas have joined forces and negotiated with their energy producers. Next winter you will get a megawatt hour for 140 euros,” says Wolfgang Loescher, operator of the three-country point: “We don’t make sugar at Kelag and state politics does nothing of the kind.”
The cable car operators of Carinthia calculate that they will pay an average of 170 euros per megawatt hour. For spokesman Manuel Kapeller-Hopfgartner, politics is also necessary: ”We need measures to remain competitive.” However, the director of Gerlitzen does not expect an energy shortage: “The slopes are almost only snowed in at night when the industry is closed and there is excess electricity.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
