Austria’s energy regulator, E-Control, has called on electricity network operators to introduce monthly billing for consumers, particularly in response to escalating energy prices.
Wolfgang Urbantschitsch, head of E-Control, highlighted the need for more frequent price signals to be provided to customers.
“It is important for both private and business customers to receive price signals more frequently,” Urbantschitsch told a conference organised by the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (Wifo), the Federal Competition Authority (BWB), and the Vienna University of Economics.
Smart Meters and Billing Challenges
Currently, households with smart meters are entitled to receive monthly bills for their electricity consumption, but many network operators do not offer this option. Most consumers, including private households and small businesses, typically pay a fixed monthly or quarterly amount for electricity and gas. However, when the annual bill is issued, low advance payments can lead to “nasty surprises” in the form of high supplementary charges.
Lack of Price Transparency and Low Switching Rates
Urbantschitsch also criticised the lack of price transparency in Austria’s energy market, which he believes discourages consumers from switching providers. “A monthly electricity bill could potentially increase customer willingness to switch providers,” he explained.
A recent survey conducted by the Market Institute on behalf of E-Control found that more than half of private electricity and gas customers have never switched their energy supplier.
The Austrian energy sector is dominated by partially state-owned companies, such as Verbund, OMV and various regional suppliers. Urbantschitsch pointed out that these companies often have “many cross-shareholdings,” a situation that has “historically grown” over time.
Calls for Stronger EU Competition Efforts
Gabriel Felbermayr, head of Wifo, also weighed in, urging the future Austrian government and the new European Commission to put more emphasis on competition policy. “We are far from achieving the single market in Europe,” he said, adding that in order to remain competitive with the US and China, the EU needs an energy market union and a savings and investment union. “Unfortunately, there has been little movement from the social partners in Austria with regard to the EU single market,” Felbermayr remarked.
Silvia Hruška-Frank, director of the Vienna Chamber of Labour, strongly disagreed with the criticism of the social partners. She argued that the competition debate should not be framed as a deregulation issue. “It is essential to have good wages and working conditions for the single market to function properly,” she said. Citing examples of wage and social dumping in Austria’s construction sector, Hruška-Frank called for an urgent “joint strategy for skilled workers across Europe” to address these challenges.
