Decision imminent

District heating: prices to fall again from fall

District heating prices exploded, especially at the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Now there are to be (further) price reductions, a decision for 90,000 customers in Graz will be made in September. However, there is also criticism of the high tariffs in Oberwölz.

District heating is a major factor in the provincial capital of Graz in particular, with around 90,000 households connected to the Energie Graz network. In addition, there are 13,000 customers of Energie Steiermark and other regional providers outside Graz. While in all other districts the free market has its say, the district heating price in Graz is set in an official procedure at the Province of Styria. 

Specifically, it is a question of what price Energie Steiermark can charge Energie Graz and what price Energie Graz can pass on to its 90,000 end customers. In 2022, the tariffs increased significantly - Graz's district heating supply is heavily dependent on gas, and the war in Ukraine caused costs to explode. 

Governor Christopher Drexler (right) and Anton Lang(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

Provincial politicians push for further reduction
Last year, there was a small price reduction of ten percent. And this year? The process is underway and a non-official expert is currently preparing a report. The aim is to be able to make a decision at the price authority in September. Politicians cannot determine the price, but the wish is clear: Governor Christopher Drexler (ÖVP) and Deputy Governor Anton Lang (SPÖ) want to see a further reduction - before the start of the next heating season

"I can understand the resentment very well"
However, the district heating price is also causing displeasure in rural regions. Last year, for example, there was a lot of criticism in Obdach, and now customers in Oberwölz have turned to the "Krone": In each of the past two years, the tariffs have risen by more than 30 percent - even though the local heating plant is mainly operated with wood chips. So there is no sign of expensive gas.

"I can very well understand the displeasure of many district heating customers in Oberwölz," Jakob Edler, Managing Director of Bioenergie Köflach, admits to the "Krone" newspaper. The local heating plant company and all existing contracts were taken over in 2019. In these contracts, it is agreed with the customers that the tariffs are based on a specific index from Statistics Austria (Coicop 4.5.5.), which is largely determined by the gas price.

The increases in the past two years have been correspondingly high. Edler: "We have tried to partially mitigate the index increases in favor of heating customers with a discount of 14 percent." He hopes that the index will soon fall again and that the overall price situation will return to a normal range. 

According to Edler, the index for more recent Bioenergie Köflach projects is already made up of several components (including wood and the general consumer price index) in order to avoid extreme fluctuations. This is also planned for Oberwölz in the medium term, but all contracts would have to be changed.