Chamber of Commerce demands rapid implementation of aid measures that have already been decided

Upper Austria looked back on an “extreme year in terms of energy policy”. Chamber of Commerce back at a press conference in Linz on Monday. The increased energy prices, some of which have increased tenfold, would represent an enormous burden for many companies. The relief measures decided by the federal government must therefore be implemented quickly so that companies “do not lose ground in international competition”, according to WKOÖ President Doris Hummer. The cost situation for companies will remain challenging this year.

Reductions that have already been approved, such as a 90 percent reduction in the electricity fee or the 50 days of free electricity for commercial companies from Energie AG, would save a medium-sized company with 150,000 kilowatt hours (KWh) of natural gas consumption and 90,000 KWh of electricity consumption around 22,000 euros (around 32 percent) annually . This emerges from a sample calculation by the WKOÖ. 34,000 companies in Upper Austria alone would benefit from the 50 free electricity days, which correspond to a discount of 13.7 percent.

Claims still outstanding

The Chamber of Commerce is also calling for the implementation of further relief measures, such as the Electricity Price Compensation Act 2022 (SAG) announced by the federal government in the first half of 2022. Since the Energy Cost Subsidy 1 (EKZ1), which has already come into force, and the planned SAG would be mutually exclusive, some companies would not have applied for the EKZ1, according to Hummer. Should the SAG be further delayed, these companies would face “a massive financial disadvantage”.