business
Upper Austrians seem to be particularly price-conscious when it comes to energy supply. Because according to the latest statistics from the energy authority E-Control, they changed electricity and gas providers the most frequently in the previous year compared to the other federal states.
Just over 83,000 Upper Austrian households and businesses changed their electricity or gas supplier last year because they saw cheaper prices or conditions with the provider. More than 71,000 customers changed their electricity provider and almost 12,000 gas providers. Which corresponds to a change rate of 6.8 percent for electricity and 8.4 percent for gas.
Consumer protection: “Currently, switching is useless”
This continues a long-term trend, according to Alfons Haber, CEO of the energy regulator E-Control, who describes the Upper Austrians as “changeable emperors”. The willingness to switch across Austria has recently increased slightly. From around 316,000 in 2020 to almost 333,000 in the previous year, an increase of 5.4 percent.
Whether that will continue this year is questionable. Studies by consumer advocates have recently shown that changing electricity or gas providers is generally useless at the moment. Because while the energy companies have already secured the necessary electricity and gas supplies for their existing customers, additional electricity and gas supplies would now have to be purchased for new customers at the current and higher costs than in the previous year.
“Turbulent times in the energy sector”
The energy sector is currently experiencing very turbulent times, according to Wolfgang Urbantschitsch from E-Control. E-Control is therefore trying to be as available to unsure consumers as possible on the energy hotline, in the arbitration board and generally in the advice of E-Control for all questions regarding electricity and gas.