Energy prices: competitive examination required – salzburg.ORF.at
Wholesale prices for gas and electricity are currently back to pre-Ukraine war levels. However, the consumers don’t notice anything – on the contrary: The electricity suppliers have increased their electricity prices significantly at the turn of the year. Salzburg AG – which is owned by the city and state of Salzburg with a large majority – is charging around 32 cents per kilowatt hour from this year instead of 13 cents as before.
State supplier remains at more than double the price
In Germany, the Federal Cartel Office is already examining whether the price increases by the energy suppliers are justified, or whether the energy suppliers are cashing in on excessive price jumps in the shadow of the state electricity price cap. There should also be a test like this in Austria, says Thanner: “What the German colleagues are doing here is definitely a very good idea. I think this is Europe and this is where the national institutions are required to take a close look at this relationship and the possible effects on the price.”
Wholesale prices plummeting
Because the energy prices on the wholesale markets have recently fallen significantly. Due to the currently mild temperatures, gas consumption is correspondingly low, and the gas storage tanks are more than 80 percent full. A megawatt hour of gas therefore costs about as much on the energy exchanges in the Netherlands as it did in February of the year before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The picture is similar for the electricity price on the Leipzig electricity exchange. Recently, more electricity from wind power, but also from French nuclear power plants, was on the market here, causing the wholesale price to drop.
Losses only arrive after months
According to experts, the falling prices will only reach consumers in a few months. Because the currently high prices are due to the procurement of the energy companies in the past few months.
Electricity pricing is currently based on the so-called merit order principle. This means that the last and therefore most expensive electricity power plant – usually one that runs on gas – sets the electricity price: “Obviously there is no legal basis for merit orders. I looked at the European legal bases in the energy sector. There isn’t even the term ‘Order of Merit’. And there is nothing to be found nationally either. This means that we are obviously dealing with agreements between companies. And that can be relevant in terms of competition.” That is why there are already several lawsuits against various energy companies due to pricing.
Rockets and Feathers effect at prizes
According to the former head of the Federal Competition Authority, something else could also be influencing the current energy prices: “Such phenomena have already happened in the past. As an example, I would like to cite fuel prices, where the gas stations are also based on listed prices,” says Thanner. “It was the case that price increases were passed on to consumers within three days. But it took more than a month for price reductions to reach consumers. This is a phenomenon known in the trade as “rockets and feathers”. system WILL be described: Prices rise like rockets for the consumer and then very slowly fall back down like a feather.”