The phones of the AK consumer protection groups have been running hot for days, said Chamber of Labor President Gerhard Michalitsch on Friday in an interview with ORF Burgenland. In the case of the gas bill in particular, the monthly payments increase for many people by several hundred euros. But nowhere is it explained and broken down how Burgenland Energie comes up to the new level of regulations, says Michalitsch. The interim accounts and regulations are “opaque” – not only for the consumers, but also for the AK consumer protection department.
The second point of criticism expressed by many callers is simply the amount of the prescriptions. “There are a lot of people who really can’t pay for this requirement and are worried regarding how they’re going to finance their lives in the coming months,” says Michalitsch.
Round table with the Burgenland Energy Board
The state’s heating price cap is only of limited help here, because it can only be applied for followingwards. “Burgenland Energie is now prescribing the high partial payment, people have to pay it and can only apply followingwards,” said Michalitsch, putting the problem in a nutshell. That has to change and the gas price has to be lowered – here the federal government needs to be put under pressure, said Michalitsch. In order to find solutions, there will be a joint round table with Burgenland Energie board member Stephan Sharma on Monday.
Sharma announces “new, transparent letters”.
Sharma admitted on Friday in the ORF Burgenland interview that the letters sent out caused “fear and worries” among customers. Therefore, the sending of these prescriptions was stopped immediately. “There will be new letters starting next week – including to the customers we have already sent a letter to,” said Sharma. In the new letters, you will “show completely transparently” what consumption you have assumed and what tariff has been set. “We will also separate between electricity and gas. Then the customers will see that our rebate and the federal government’s electricity price brake will take effect automatically.” There will be no significant increase here.
Sharma on energy prices
Stephan Sharma, CEO of Burgenland Energie” goes into the drastic increases in the prescriptions for electricity and gas bills in the studio. He goes into how the drastic price increase comes regarding.
“No relief for the federal government when it comes to gas”
Different with the gas. Here, on the other hand, the partial payments will be “very, very high” because there is no relief from the federal government, according to Sharma. However, the heat price cap relieves the country. “With the new letter, customers can get relief from the state of Burgenland, and the additional costs will then be reimbursed,” said Sharma. He gave the example of a minimum pensioner who had additional costs of 800 euros. Of this, 30 euros are for electricity and the rest for gas. Thanks to the heating price cap, this minimum pensioner will only have additional costs of 30 euros in the end.
To the objection that customers first apply for the heating price cap and have to pay for the partial amounts themselves until it is paid out, Sharma replied: “Fortunately, she (note: the minimum pensioner addressed) does not have to wait for the money. We have agreed with the state that she can go to the municipality or the state with the new letter and get this subsidy from the heat price cap. Seen in this way, immediate aid is required,” says Sharma. Customers should also contact the Burgenland Energie customer center at any time if they have any questions. “It’s important to us that we give everyone the best possible support in this situation,” said Sharma.
Doskozil refers to a hardship clause
Governor Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ) also pointed out the state’s heat price cap on Friday, with which private households can receive support up to a net annual income of 63,000 euros. According to a broadcast, there have been almost 600 applications and more than 2,500 telephone inquiries since the beginning of the year. Provision has now also been made for the heating price cap with its own hardship clause, so that if the value limits are only slightly exceeded in individual cases, a subsidy can still be granted following an examination. In general, the heat price cap brings a “tangible relief in heating costs for around 80 percent of Burgenland residents,” said SPÖ regional director Roland Fürst.
Anyone who wants to take advantage of the heat price cap must take advantage of mandatory energy advice, but the state wants to organize this advice itself, the Greens complained and fear delays as a result: “There are more than 1,000 engineering offices, heating and electrical engineers in Burgenland – they might immediately start advising because they are authorized and trained,” explained Green energy spokesman Wolfgang Spitzmüller.
The People’s Party showed no understanding for the price increases. The state energy supplier collects profits in the millions every year and sits on reserves worth millions, according to ÖVP state manager Patrik Fazekas. It is completely unacceptable that customers now have to accept massively high prescriptions. According to Fazekas, it is incomprehensible why one has to pay exorbitant prices for the cheaply produced electricity.
