AK warn: Electricity price brake incomplete – salzburg.ORF.at
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By far not all customers benefit from the government’s electricity price brake, the Salzburg Chamber of Labor is now warning of this. Night electricity consumers and users of heat pumps or other electricity heating systems that are connected to the main meter are currently excluded.
Anyone who heats water at night with a boiler is looking through their fingers, the Chamber of Labor criticizes the government’s electricity price brake. This criticism also applies to electric heaters, which are separately funded by Salzburg AG, but only if they are connected to separate electricity meters, says AK consumer advocate Christian Obermoser: “Only household electricity that comes from the socket is funded. But hot water treatment, night electricity and boiler meters, which are expressly not funded.”
The reason for this is the federal government’s decision to only subsidize electricity costs, but not heat generation costs. In order to compensate for this, Salzburg AG offers its own subsidy, “with this, households are supported with night storage heaters and direct electricity heating in the ‘electricity heat OK’ tariff. The company promotes 2,900 kWh consumption with a cap on the electricity price to 10 cents net per kWh.
Governor thinks about heating subsidy
According to the consumer protection of the Chamber of Labour, this subsidy does not apply across the board: “Night electricity meters are an exception here. Also electricity for boiler and hot water and when the electricity heating is connected to the main meter. Electric heating and infrared heating are also not funded if there is no separate meter for them,” says Obermoser.
In addition, according to the AK, electricity customers who only have one electricity meter in their house also lost out on this subsidy, even if two or more generations live under one roof in the same building. From the office of Governor Wilfried Haslauer (ÖVP), it is now said that they are already thinking about closing the gap with the heating cost subsidy decided by the federal government in December, regardless of income. However, the Ministry of Social Affairs announced in advance that only low earners should benefit from the heating subsidy.