The corresponding decision was made today, Thursday evening, in the National Council. The SPÖ and FPÖ agreed together with the ÖVP and the Greens, giving the necessary two-thirds majority. Only NEOS were against it because it would not reduce dependence on Russian gas.
None of the parliamentary groups were very happy with the regulation – speakers from the ÖVP, Greens, SPÖ and FPÖ also stated that intensive efforts should be made to phase out gas and fossil fuels as a whole and to increase energy efficiency. But to ensure security of supply for households, the four parties still agreed.
“The stores are empty”
Because the gas storage level is currently only 15 percent, “the storage is empty,” noted the Green Lukas Hammer. The phase-out of gas, which is 80 percent sourced from Russia, will not be achieved until next winter, so the law is necessary.
According to Tanja Graf (ÖVP), the federal government will invest around EUR 1.6 to 2 billion to fill the gas reserve, depending on the gas price. Together with the two packages of measures, the government is spending more than five billion euros on security of supply and energy affordability.
On the part of the opposition, Alois Schroll from the SPÖ and Axel Kassegger from the FPÖ welcomed the fact that turquoise-green had responded to their demands in the negotiations. It was possible to pull out one or the other fang together, Kassegger noted. It is now clear that the entire reserve will not simply be sold when the time limit expires (September 30, 2025). The main committee then has to approve by a two-thirds majority the ordinance that will determine what happens to the gas stock.
“We are trapped”
However, the NEOS could not agree. This gas reserve will have to be bought in Russia, so that “further new money will be flushed into Mr. Putin’s war coffers,” criticized Karin Doppelbauer. She called for a comprehensive package to exit Russian gas – as NEOS had already presented yesterday.
“We’re trapped,” said Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens). In view of the dependence not only of households but also of industrial companies on gas, something had to be done in the short term. Kogler represented Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler – who was at a meeting of the International Energy Agency IEA in Paris on Thursday. There, too, there was agreement that Russian oil and gas imports had to be radically reduced.
In a written statement, she welcomed the decision in the National Council together with Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP). Both pledged to continue to make intensive efforts to phase out gas and oil through the expansion of renewable energies.
Gas reserve as of November 2022
The gas reserve should be available from November of this year. The amount of the reserve will be based on the amount of gas delivered to network users in January, approximately 12.6 terawatt hours will be stored, which corresponds to the consumption of a cold January month. The reserve is financed by the federal government. The reserves are procured via the gas exchange or as part of a tender via the distribution area manager.
The aim of the law is that even in the event of a complete interruption in gas supplies from Russia, the security of supply for Austrian end customers can be maintained, according to the justification for the application. This will strengthen the resilience of the Austrian energy supply and reduce dependency on imports.
Source: Nachrichten
