The consumer advocates complain that the electricity producer advertises with the slogan “100% from Austrian hydropower”, but adjusted its prices at the beginning of May due to higher prices on a European energy exchange. The association emphasizes that the basis is a contractually agreed, legally compliant clause.
The energy provider, which is 51 percent owned by the Republic of Austria, has agreed in its general terms and conditions to maintain value according to the Austrian electricity price index (ÖSPI), according to the Association for Consumer Information (VKI) in a broadcast. The ÖSPI, in turn, is calculated on the basis of the listings on the energy exchange EEX (European Energy Exchange), where prices have risen sharply in recent months.
Link to stock market price “incomprehensible”
“For many consumers, it is completely incomprehensible why the association ties its price to a market price, although it probably produces the majority of the electricity for household customers itself and has made considerable excess profits through the increased prices,” says Thomas Hirmke, head quoted from the legal department at the VKI.
In a statement on the VKI lawsuit, Verbund emphasized today that the basis for the last electricity price adjustment was a contractually agreed, legally compliant clause. When this clause was agreed, every customer was informed clearly and in a way that was easy to understand that significant price changes were possible due to the system of value maintenance of the working price with the ÖSPI published by the Austrian Energy Agency.
Around 95 percent of the electricity generated by Verbund came from hydropower, and the group emphasizes that household and commercial customers also obtain electricity from certified hydroelectric power plants. Pricing, on the other hand, takes place on the European energy exchanges and applies equally to all market participants, regardless of their generation portfolio. The wholesale prices for gas and electricity and thus also those for end consumers rose throughout Europe. Verbund was unable to escape these developments on the European energy market and increased prices for households and businesses in May.
Lawyer Michael Poduschka recently filed a lawsuit against the association with a similar reasoning and thought about a class action lawsuit in the “ORF” after “hundreds” of association customers had contacted him.
Source: Nachrichten
