
Austria’s nine main provincial energy suppliers achieved record profits totalling around €2.5 billion in 2023, according to a study released on Thursday by the Momentum Institute.
This marks a significant increase from the pre-Covid pandemic period (2018-2021), when annual profits across all energy suppliers averaged €1.03 billion. The companies thus generated an excess profit of €1.45 billion last year compared to the pre-pandemic levels.
Kelag Kärnten, the energy provider in Austria’s southernmost province of Carinthia, saw the largest increase, with its excess earnings quadrupling in 2023, representing a 316% increase over the average from 2018 to 2021.
Wien Energie in Vienna reported the second highest increase, at 183%, closely followed by Vorarlberger illwerke vkw AG, which recorded a 174% rise. Energie Steiermark came in fourth with 123%, while EVN in Lower Austria experienced a doubling of its excess profits, at 101%.
In contrast, Burgenland Energie AG reported the smallest increase in excess profits, with a rise of just 35% compared to the pre-crisis average.
In absolute terms, however, Wien Energie recorded the highest surplus profit, amounting to €387 million, due to its larger size.