Abandonment of Gazprom did not turn out to be cheap: Austria is looking for money for energy subsidies

Austria will sell some shares in companies to subsidize electricity prices for the population. Vienna expects to raise 500 million euros. The rejection of Russian gas has become one of the reasons why the cost of electricity in the country is growing.

The Austrian government plans to spend approximately 500 million euros to reduce electricity bills for the population and will receive funds from the sale of state shares in companies.

"These 500 million will be available from our shares," Chancellor Christian Stoecker said, Reuters reports.

According to him, in this way the expenses will be neutral, that is, they will not aggravate the budget deficit. The Chancellor said that earlier the government had already allocated 130 million euros to stop the growth of tariffs, but more was needed.

"The goal is to ensure that the growth of network tariffs next year is below the inflation rate and averages only about 1%. In 2025, network tariffs have increased by 23%. The difference is obvious," the Austrian Chancellor said.

The law on reducing the cost of electricity has yet to pass parliament.

"In order to ensure 2% inflation and 1% economic growth next year, we need a further reduction in electricity prices. Therefore, additional measures will be taken this year. This means that electricity will become cheaper for both households and businesses," added Christian Stoecker.

In November last year, the Austrian OMV did not make another payment for Russian gas and Gazprom stopped deliveries. This was one of the reasons why the price of electricity in Austria is rising.

According to the NordPool exchange, if in 2024 the average annual wholesale cost in the country was 81.5 euros per MWh, then in 2025 it will be 97.4 euros per MWh. In neighboring Germany, the price has also increased, but not so much: 10 euros per MWh instead of 16 euros per MWh.