Image: Erwin Wodicka
According to the company, Optima Classic tariffs are affected. Customers will receive a new offer with a one-year fixed price and commitment by registered mail. You must actively agree to a new contract, otherwise the energy supply will be discontinued at the end of June.
According to EVN spokesman Zach, almost 40 percent of the energy supplier’s customers are affected. Optima Classic tariffs are linked to the Austrian electricity and gas price indices (ÖSPI & ÖGPI) and are adjusted twice a year depending on the development of these values, the company explained on Friday. EVN has thus complied with several court decisions “to proceed transparently and symmetrically in the event of price changes in their Optima Classic tariffs”. An increase was expected for April 1st. Instead, the affected electricity and gas tariffs will be discontinued on June 30th.
Customers can switch to a fixed-price offer with a one-year commitment or to a different tariff or switch to a different supplier. For reasons of consumer protection law, the tariff change cannot take place automatically, Zach explained: “Customers must actively agree to their new contract. We need legal certainty here.”
New offer to keep prices stable
Compared to the expiring Optima Classic tariff, the annual basic price for the Optima Garant Natur 12 is slightly higher, while the energy price is slightly cheaper at 31.8 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity or 14.1 cents per kWh of gas. For an average customer with an annual consumption of 3,500 kWh of electricity and 15,000 kWh of gas, “practically nothing changes”. “With this new offer, we can keep prices stable over the coming winter. This brings both our customers and us as a company security in these uncertain times,” said Zach.
The letters will be sent in four tranches from March 21 to April 24 in order to be able to cope with the expected increased number of inquiries to customer service. In addition, EVN is planning a bus tour through more than 500 municipalities in the federal state from March 29th. “Elderly people in particular, but also people with language barriers, often prefer personal contact to the online offer,” said the spokesman.
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