Chamber of Labor demands

Regulations needed for energy price adjustments

The Upper Austrian Chamber of Labor is calling for clear legal regulations for price changes in the energy sector.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

Slowly but surely, nobody knows anything about electricity anymore: Due to a ruling by the Supreme Court, energy suppliers can only change the price of electricity with the active consent of customers. If they do not react, they are threatened with termination of their contract. The Upper Austrian Chamber of Labor is therefore calling for clear legal regulations for price adjustments. 

Before 2019, changing energy prices was easy. Customers received a letter two weeks before a price change with the most important information and a reference to a possible objection, which led to the contract ending after three months. The Supreme Court put a stop to this and demanded that price changes should only be made on the basis of comprehensible criteria.

Change in the law caused confusion
This resulted in a number of court cases, some of which are still pending. This led energy suppliers to only make changes to energy prices with the active consent of customers. "Instead of creating clarity, the latest amendment to the law caused confusion. It is high time to establish clear regulations for price adjustments in the energy sector," says AK President Andreas Stangl.

Notice of change can lead to disconnection
However, if the energy company does not want to maintain the existing price, customers are given notice and a new offer is made at the same time. The statutory notice period is eight weeks. If there is no response to the notice of termination, the grid operator will disconnect the customer after a further 14 days because there is no longer a supply contract. The Supreme Court has ruled that energy companies are entitled to terminate supply contracts. Customers must therefore react: Either accept the new offer or look for a new supplier with the help of E-Control's tariff calculator.

AK calls for legal protection
At present, there is no legal regulation for either electricity or gas that protects customers from disconnection after termination. In the electricity sector, a regulation is included in the draft of the new Electricity Industry Act, but there is no such draft for gas. Stangl demands: "In addition to a clear regulation on price changes, we need to ensure that nobody has to fear being left without electricity or heating if a contract is terminated."