The Greens warn that the energy laws promised by the government by summer have not yet been delivered. That no draft for the Electricity Industry Act (ElWG) has been presented by ÖVP, SPÖ, and NEOS is not a good sign, said former Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler, who is now the Greens’ energy spokesperson in the National Council. She fears a law that is not ambitious enough and will stifle expansion. Allegedly, the government is considering introducing feed-in network tariffs.

Signals from the Industry
The signals she receives from the industry are very worrying, Gewessler said. According to these, a leveling down threatens. In addition to network tariffs for feeding in electricity, a “peak capping”—meaning that network operators would be allowed to throttle installations when there is too much power—could lead to projects, especially in capital-intensive wind energy, being canceled because they are no longer economically viable.

Gewessler, however, considers a peak capping for photovoltaics useful because it reduces the costs of grid expansion. To lower grid costs, the opposition politician proposes spreading investment costs over several decades and building more storage.

Minister and Opposition Comments
The responsible Economic Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer (ÖVP) said on Wednesday that he is confident the draft law can go into the consultation process as planned before summer. SPÖ energy spokesperson Alois Schroll said he hopes for constructive cooperation from the opposition.

In Austria, a two-thirds majority in the National Council is required for energy laws. This means ÖVP, SPÖ, and NEOS need the votes of either the FPÖ or the Greens. This applies not only to the ElWG but also to the Renewable Expansion Acceleration Act (EABG) and the Renewable Gases Act (EGG), whose “priority implementation by summer 2025” the three-party coalition announced in its government programme.

For the new Electricity Act, there was already a draft from ÖVP and the Greens in 2024. It was intended, among other things, to ensure that grid costs for electricity are distributed more fairly and that less electricity is lost due to misalignment of generation and consumption. A social tariff was also planned. Gewessler envisions a price of 5 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the approximately 300,000 households exempt from the ORF household levy, she told journalists on Wednesday.