Vienna Energy

No more cents from Vienna for Russia’s war

Wien Energie is the first major domestic energy company to withdraw completely from Russian gas.

(Bild: PIXSELL / EXPA / picturedesk.com)

Wien Energie is the first domestic energy company to completely withdraw from Russian natural gas. There are no additional costs for customers. And: "Anyone who buys gas or heat from Wien Energie can be sure that they are not financing Russia's war."

Around 80 percent of domestic gas consumption is still covered by Russian gas. Although gas consumption in Austria has fallen significantly since Russia's attack on Ukraine, Russia is still the most important source for Austria. But no longer for Vienna in the future. Wien Energie will be withdrawing from Russian natural gas by 2025. This affects both the supply to private and commercial customers as well as the operation of power plants and district heating. Wien Energie is therefore the first Austrian energy service provider and one of the largest gas consumers and suppliers to cover its own gas requirements entirely from alternative sources, primarily from the North Sea.

Vienna's City Councillor for Economic Affairs Peter Hanke and Wien Energie CEO Michael Strebl have now announced this major step.

(Bild: Wien Energie)

"Russia is no longer a reliable partner"
"Security of supply is our top priority", emphasized Vienna's City Councillor for Finance and Economy Peter Hanke (SPÖ). "Russia is no longer a reliable partner for Europe, which is why we have consistently opted to pull out." This step is a direct response to the geopolitical uncertainties that have had a lasting impact on Europe's energy policy since the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Wien Energie therefore began to source non-Russian gas, for example from North Africa and Norway, as early as 2022. The purchase of 10 terawatt hours (10 billion kilowatt hours) of gas from alternative sources has been secured for the coming year. The corresponding contracts were signed in the past few days. 

Where will Vienna's gas come from in future?

(Bild: Wien Energie)

No additional costs and no money for the war
An important message for the Viennese: the switch to non-Russian gas will not result in any additional costs. The associated additional costs, which Wien Energie estimates to be in the mid-single-digit million range, will be covered from its own resources. "We are not passing on these costs," assured Michael Strebl, Chairman of the Wien Energie Management Board. "Anyone who purchases gas or district heating from us can be sure that no more money will be used indirectly to finance the Russian war."

Europe-wide gas network as a challenge
The technical implementation of the phase-out nevertheless poses a complex challenge. As natural gas cannot be physically differentiated directly according to its origin, gas from different sources is fed into the European network. In order to guarantee the supply of non-Russian gas, Wien Energie concluded direct supply contracts with trading partners. These guarantee that the gas fed into the grid comes from countries such as Norway - backed up by so-called "Declaration of Honour" declarations and forgery-proof certificates of origin.