Burgenland Energy CEO

“370 euros a household will have to pay from January”

Burgenland Energie CEO Stephan Sharma

(Bild: P. Huber)

The CEO of Burgenland Energie, Stephan Sharma, warns politicians: a typical household will have to pay 370 euros more from next year. To reduce costs, he is calling for a red-white-red pact for energy independence.

"Krone": How is the energy transition going in Austria?
Stephan Sharma: Let's say: expandable. We are currently in a very difficult situation, both in terms of the economy and the energy supply: two years of recession that is still not over. In the energy sector, we have had an energy crisis for just as long and it is not over yet. At the same time, support payments for households expire at the end of the year. We have to free ourselves from the energy trap we are currently in by becoming energy-independent.

We have options here with water, wind, solar, storage and grid expansion. If we were to consistently implement the conversion of the energy infrastructure towards 100 percent energy independence for Austria, it would cost around 70 billion euros. We import 15 billion euros worth of energy from abroad every year. This means that in five years we could have our energy infrastructure set up in such a way that we are energy-independent.

There are hardly 70 billion in the national budget ... 
It needs both politicians and companies who want to implement this. The capital for this is certainly available at the banks due to the economic viability of this conversion. In Burgenland, we are already showing how this is possible: we are financing the expansion together with the European Investment Bank and Austrian banks and insurance companies.

In any case, the energy crisis is not over. Energy prices are still twice as high as they were before the outbreak of the energy crisis in 2020. If I look at the futures markets until 2027, prices will remain at this level. If we do nothing, we will lose companies, jobs and added value to the USA, China and India.

How do we get the costs down?
By putting together a red-white-red pact for energy independence. We have the technologies, we have the energy resources in our own country, we have the companies in our country that are also prepared to invest.

But Austria cannot completely decouple itself from the international or continental electricity and energy market and thus from prices.
Austria can become an energy exporter, we are pioneers in the field of renewable energies. Why is this not an objective that we set ourselves?

Where is the problem?
That we don't recognize the energy transition as an opportunity and an economic driver. The energy transition is not a cost driver if you do it right, as you can see from the profits of foreign energy exporters.

But the energy transition will of course also be felt by customers. Or rather, they already do.
They won't have to if we become more independent. Households are currently still being relieved by the electricity price brake and the exemption from levies. The electricity price brake amounts to 190 euros per year for an average Austrian household. The electricity levy relief and the renewables levy relief amount to around 180 euros per year.

If we make ourselves more independent, households will not have to feel the effects of the energy transition, emphasizes Sharma.

(Bild: Holl Reinhard)

And that includes both?
Yes. That's 370 euros a year more that a typical household will have to pay from 1 January 2025.

Should it be extended?
We could extend it temporarily in one of the next National Council sessions. We could also create the legal possibility for energy companies to use profits from customers to reduce prices. We are not allowed to do this because, according to EU and national law, it distorts competition, i.e. dumping. We have a market share of around 90 percent in Burgenland. If I do something like that, I'll have the competition authority on my back. One solution would be for Austria to temporarily suspend this through the current EU emergency regulation due to the energy crisis. Or the regulatory authority should temporarily set the prices. In any case, we need to do something quickly.

Do you guarantee your customers in Burgenland fixed prices for 20 years?
As an energy company, we are responsible for a secure and affordable energy supply in Burgenland. Our goal is to To become energy-independent in Burgenland by 2030 through the expansion of wind, PV and storage. Everyone in Burgenland should benefit from this expansion. We have therefore established Europe's first citizen energy community for an entire region. This allows us to offer electricity from wind and PV systems to households, companies, municipalities and associations at a permanent, fixed energy price whenever these systems produce electricity.

The aim in Burgenland is to become energy-independent by 2030 through the expansion of wind, PV and storage.

(Bild: P. Huber)

As CEO, you cannot promise that your company may not make any profits as a result, contrary to your liability. How is that supposed to work?
What we presented yesterday is a Europe-wide electricity market revolution. If the only critical question that remains is whether we are still making enough profits with this model, then I believe that we have done a great deal right. As the person responsible for an energy supply company in this country, I see it as my duty to ensure that we supply the people of this country with secure, affordable and sustainable energy on a long-term basis. This is exactly what we are doing with the Burgenland Energieunabhängig fan club.