“Price brake difficult, other solutions feasible”
politics
From a legal point of view, a state price brake for electricity, gas and other energy sources is much more difficult than it appears at first glance. That says the lawyer, administrative and constitutional lawyer Reinhard Klaushofer from the University of Salzburg. More and more politicians are calling for a cap on energy prices.
After top political personnel in Lower and Upper Austria and Burgenland, Salzburg’s governor Wilfried Haslauer recently advocated a cap.
Stock law hurdles for capping
University professor Klaushofer says that listed stock corporations such as Salzburger AG or Energie AG have an obligation to their shareholders: “That’s why prescribed price caps are very difficult. There are entrepreneurial limits. There are framework conditions that have to be observed in general. There may be the issue of possible infidelity at play.”
The expert suspects that Salzburg AG is lobbying politicians: “There could be price regulation – or tax breaks for certain customers. Action should be taken at the general political level so that you can then act on the market as a whole.”
“Supported base amounts would be possible”
Klaushofer says the best way would be to act at national level or in the EU: “This would be the best way to influence what’s happening on the market.” Legally, it would be possible to introduce a supported basic amount with lower prices, emphasizes the expert. If you use more than this base, you have to pay in full again: “Then consumption would not become excessive again because you have a cap.”
Cap on gas prices for power plants?
The EU Commission has already suggested this: “There are already examples – for example France. Spain and Portugal cap the gas price for power plants, so that electricity then becomes cheaper: “This is also possible within a European framework.”
Klaushofer says that the topic of electricity is very complex overall because it is very internationally embedded at EU level – more so than other industrial sectors that are organized nationally: “Changes are easier in the health sector than in the energy sector.”