Many customers switch

Lower gas consumption increases network costs

Less gas is being consumed in Austria. This is now driving up costs for the remaining customers (symbolic image).

(Bild: AP)

As more and more people in Austria are replacing their gas heating, it is becoming more expensive for the remaining consumers. This is because the price is made up of consumption and network costs. The fewer customers there are, the higher their share of the grid costs.

Energy suppliers are talking about additional costs of around 60 euros per year in future. "A smaller gas network is a cheaper network," said Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) on Tuesday on Ö1's Morgenjournal. Therefore, attempts are now being made to reduce the size of the network in order to save costs. This is to be monitored by the regulatory authority E-Control.

An amendment to the Gas Industry Act is still pending. However, it must be ensured that not just a few consumers bear the entire costs, said Gewessler. For example, anyone who has a rented apartment may not change the heating without the landlord's consent.

72,000 switches to other heating systems
In the past 22 months, around 72,000 people have changed their gas heating system, which was subsidized with a maximum of 15,000 to 23,000 euros, depending on the type of heating system. According to the Ministry, only a few applications were rejected.

The gas network in Austria currently comprises 2000 kilometers of long-distance pipelines and 44,000 distribution lines. In the long term, only a fraction of this will remain. Last year, the population consumed 75 terawatt hours of gas. The decommissioning plans were adopted at European level in May; this provision must first be incorporated into national law.