Electricity price: Unrest in Upper Austria’s industry is growing

LINZ. The German federal government’s decision to give its own industrial companies tax advantages when it comes to electricity prices is leading to increasing nervousness among domestic companies. Upper Austrian companies in particular fear that they will have corresponding competitive disadvantages in the coming years.
It is said that 28 billion euros will be given to large German industrial companies over the next four years. Who exactly will benefit from cheaper electricity is still being discussed. Above all, the Germans are concerned with securing the international competitiveness of their industry. You are therefore part of a subsidy race from which Austria cannot escape. “The Austrian and German markets are so closely linked, the pressure on the domestic market is increasing,” says Joachim Haindl-Grutsch, managing director of the Upper Austrian Industrial Association. “In Europe, Austria is one of the few countries that has not yet implemented electricity price compensation for industry.

What will happen by 2030?

Upper Austria’s industry is particularly affected by the price disadvantage because it is very energy-intensive. It consumes around a third of the electricity that the manufacturing sector needs throughout Austria. Almost two thirds of energy consumption comes from the paper and cardboard, chemicals and petrochemicals, and iron and steel production sectors (19 to 23 percent each). In Austria, industrial companies have been awarded electricity price compensation for 2022.
However, what will happen in the following years is still an open question. In Germany, for example, companies know what to expect by 2030.
“We need quick action,” Haindl-Grutsch repeats the mantra of the industry, where management has long been annoyed by the federal government’s hesitant approach. Without competitive energy prices, industry will gradually migrate from Austria. In doing so, it ensures prosperity here. “This is a threat to the site.”
Negotiations are going on eagerly behind the scenes. According to reports, the industry has already drawn attention to the precarious situation in a letter to Chancellor Karl Nehammer.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs still says that the “measures in Germany are being subjected to a detailed analysis”, but there is no timetable for a change or details yet.

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