Electricity prices explode: This is how households react to the cost trap!

Electricity prices explode: This is how households react to the cost trap!

Österreich, Land - The energy costs in Austria have experienced an alarming increase. As the "Austrian Energy Agency" reports, electricity prices have climbed by a terrifying 45.4 percent compared to January 2024 to January 2025, while energy prices rose by a total of 12.8 percent. This means that an average household now has to pay a third more for electricity than before. The main responsibility for this development is the expiry of the federal current price brake on December 31, 2024 and the significantly increased network costs. The green electricity promotion costs, which are no longer covered by the state budget, also contribute to the drastic inflation.

The experts from the "Austrian Energy Agency" comment that the situation is "understandable from an energy economy perspective". The market has recovered from the greatest turbulence and wholesale prices have been continuously fallen since its high in autumn 2022 to mid -2024. Despite the current prices explosion, the experts expect the pressure on the energy suppliers to increase to create competitive offers, which could lead to "cheaper tariffs" in the long term. 5min.at reported that ...

price brakes and their consequences

Paris, Berlin and now Vienna: The Federal Government expired the price brakes at the turn of 2023/2024, which also contributes to the situation. While the current electricity and gas prices are often below the previously defined maximum limits, they are still higher than at the beginning of the crisis. Chancellor Scholz said that despite the rising prices, no sudden price jumps can be expected because the gas stores are well filled. But the government is ready to act quickly with unforeseen price increases to protect the citizens. As the Federal Government recently found, consumers who are affected by higher prices should be considered.