Austria: Dissatisfaction Among Guntramsdorf Energy Community Members in Mödling District

The Guntramsdorf Renewable Energy Community (EEG) has expressed dissatisfaction with the proposed network tariffs for 2027, arguing that the draft by the regulatory authority E-Control would significantly disadvantage the sharing of locally generated solar power. The group contends that this approach contradicts political efforts to expand energy communities. Commenting on the situation, chairperson Gerold Babuschik stated, “The legislator says: Share your electricity. The tariff regulation says: But please not too cheaply.”

Residents and stakeholders in the district of Mödling can submit objections to the E-Control tariff draft until November 20. The EEG Guntramsdorf is calling on the public to participate in the consultation process to voice concerns about the proposed changes.

The proposed changes would reduce the discount for electricity sourced from the immediate neighborhood from the current 57 percent to 49 percent, while the reduction for power within a substation would drop from 28 percent to 22 percent. The Energy Community views the transition system, effective from January, with particular concern, noting that shared community electricity could become more expensive in some cases, even as the general network fee decreases. Furthermore, the price advantage over the standard summer off-peak tariff is shrinking to a regional low of approximately 0.1 cents per kilowatt-hour during midday hours. “A tenth of a cent. No one gets off the couch to start the washing machine when the sun is shining for that,” Babuschik stated.

Gabriele Ertl, the vice-chair of the community, criticized the rigid application of the general low tariff between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., a window that remains fixed regardless of whether solar power is actually being generated. She noted that energy communities distribute the electricity that is currently available locally. “We direct consumption to where the sun is shining right now – this relieves the grid and saves on network expansion, which everyone ultimately pays for,” Ertl emphasized. From her perspective, this approach would reward the fixed time window in the future, rather than the consumption that actually benefits the power grid.

Further criticism targeted a proposed connection fee of 195 euros per kilowatt for new photovoltaic systems. For a 100-kilowatt installation on a municipal building, this could result in costs of up to 19,500 euros. Additionally, the energy community expressed concern about additional grid costs for electricity that, for example, travels directly through building wiring to apartments in multi-family houses without using the public network at all.

Households that have adopted heat pumps and electric vehicles to rely on renewable energy could face increased financial burdens, according to calculations by the community. The introduction of the new capacity fee would raise their network costs by approximately five percent, a shift that community electricity can no longer offset. “Those who switch to heat pumps and electric vehicles are doing exactly what policymakers want – and they are being met with a higher network tariff,” Ertl criticized.

Call for comments by November 20

The Guntramsdorf Energy Community (EEG Guntramsdorf) has calculated the draft tariff for all 14 grid areas in Austria and intends to submit its own formal statement. The organization is also urging other energy communities to exercise their right to participate in the consultation process. To facilitate this, a template has been prepared that can be adapted for any of the 14 grid areas by inserting the relevant local data. The completed statement must be submitted to the regulatory authority E-Control no later than November 20.

Babuschik specifically criticized the short consultation period, noting that while grid operators have a say in the timeline, volunteers are given only three weeks. The group aims to ensure that the concerns of energy communities are taken into account in the further development of grid fees by achieving the broadest possible participation. “We have done the work once so that no one can claim they did not have the time,” the chairman stated.

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Further contributions on the topics

The district of Mödling is witnessing growing discontent within the Guntramsdorf energy community.

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