It’s an ongoing topic in Ried: The Causa Energie Ried doesn’t make the headlines. On Wednesday there will be an explosive special meeting of the municipal council, about which the Energie-Ried supervisory board and city councilor Lukas Oberwagner (Greens) will speak in an interview with the OÖ Nachrichten.
OÖN: There is still a lot of fuss around Energie Ried. Next week, technical director Anton Eckschlager is to be dismissed in a special municipal council and a new one appointed. As the Supervisory Board, how do you see the discussions of the past few weeks?
Luke Oberwagner: The discussions have caused serious damage to the company. What particularly bothers me is that you distract from the real heart of the affair. With all due presumption of innocence, we are dealing here with two former long-term managing directors who apparently supplied false data to E-Control, presumably in order to collect excessive compensation payments. That’s why the Corruption Prosecutor’s Office is investigating.
Eckschlager still has around three and a half years of contract, he would probably have to continue to be paid if he was recalled. Could Energie Ried afford three managing directors to pay and how do you want to argue that with the population – keyword massively increasing energy costs?
This reasoning is the responsibility of the owner, i.e. the general assembly around Mayor Zwielehner. He will have to ask himself this question.
Does the current management have the trust of the supervisory board?
The current management has my full trust, and so far I have not heard anything to the contrary from the supervisory board. I would also like to state that the Supervisory Board, under my chairmanship, passed almost all resolutions unanimously or with a large majority. We also unanimously recommended to the General Assembly in March, with one abstention, that speculation on the electricity market should be ended immediately. Unfortunately, this recommendation was not followed.
It is rumored that the public could be excluded from the explosive agenda items. Council members must vote on this beforehand. It is a city-owned company, would you describe such an approach as non-transparent?
The company is owned by the citizens of the city of Ried. You have a right to know what is being decided. Yes, such an approach is not transparent and will no longer be politically acceptable in 2022, especially since there is no objective reason for meetings behind closed doors. Exactly such actions lead to massive disenchantment with politics. So I also expect that the votes will be carried out openly and not secretly. Every member of the municipal council has the duty to take a clear position on this.
How do you assess the political dynamite of this cause? The politically occupied supervisory board is likely to have a completely different opinion than the general assembly. What does a solution strategy look like in the interests of everyone?
Everyone has to come to a table and decisions have to be made, which are then followed by everyone. It is also clear that the supervisory board is not a body to be given a nod. That too is no longer tolerable in 2022. The Supervisory Board consists of personalities who bring a high level of expertise from different areas.
Apparently, provisions of around 26 million euros have to be made, since the allegedly incorrectly transmitted line lengths may go back 20 years. What does that mean for the city of Ried?
This money must be “frozen” for the duration of the proceedings, there are clear written reports on this. After the process is complete, we will see what happens next. However, a city like Ried with its financial strength must also manage a balanced budget without paying dividends from Energie Ried.
As the chairman of the Energie-Ried supervisory board and city councilor for the Greens, how would you describe the current political climate in Ried?
On Wednesday, all municipal councils have to show whether they are pure voters or whether they are fulfilling their democratic task of obtaining balanced information and making decisions with the necessary responsibility and care for the population. Once again: Energie Ried is not owned by the mayor or a party – it belongs to all Rieders.
Source: Nachrichten
