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Energy grid fees will be increased at the start of 2024.
We already pay a lot for electricity and gas, but from January on, you will have to prepare for even higher costs. This is because the grid fees will be increased at the start of 2024. For electricity, the average increase across Austria will be around 11.25 percent, while gas network charges will rise by an average of three percent, the regulatory authority E-Control announced on Monday.
For an average household with an annual consumption of 3,500 kilowatt hours (kWh), the increase in network costs amounts to around 32 euros per year or 2.70 euros per month. Gas (15,000 kWh annual consumption) is around 90 cents more per month.
The main reasons for the increase in grid fees are inflation and increased investment in grids.
Gas grid fees are rising in the federal states of Vienna, Tyrol, and Vorarlberg, where necessary investments in safety technology, among other things, have led to cost increases, explains E-Control Executive Director Wolfgang Urbantschitsch.
“In the grid areas of Styria, Lower Austria, and Carinthia, on the other hand, we have seen a reduction in charges despite high inflation,” says Urbantschitsch.
Depending on the province, the grid fees account for around 30% of the total gas bill; the rest is accounted for by the cost of the gas itself as well as taxes and levies.
For electricity, there will be significant increases in grid fees in all grid areas. Only in the Burgenland and Upper Austria grid areas will there be reduced charges.
The price increase is also because the framework conditions for electricity grid operators have changed significantly. “They are currently required to connect many decentralized generation units to the grid, set up energy communities, and provide data for this. This will have to continue in the coming years. In this context, massive investments in the grids are also required,” explains E-Control Executive Board member Alfons Haber.
