Energy transition on site: Mayor demands civil rights in electricity production

Energy transition on site: Mayor demands civil rights in electricity production

Eisenstadt, Österreich - On May 22, 2025, the 74th Austrian city council took place in Eisenstadt, which gathered numerous experts and decision -makers under the motto "Designing energy transition" to discuss the future of energy supply. The focus was on energy communities and the self -determination of the municipalities in the energy future. The moderation was obliged Alexandra Laubner-Gardowsky .

Prominent voices were among the discussion, including , Mayor of Eisenstadt, , Deputy General Director of the Raiffeisenlandesbank Burgenland, as well as Andreas Snowman , Managing Director of Enlion. Participation in the event shows the increasing interest in the use of renewable energies and the creation of regional energy communities.

energy communities in focus

Andreas Schneeemann spoke about the legal framework and the perspectives of energy communities. He emphasized the need for decentralization in the energy transition. In particular, Eva Fugger presented the model of the Raiffeisen energy cooperatives, which has been active in Burgenland since 2022. Every third municipality in Burgenland is part of this initiative, which aims to actively involve citizens, companies and municipalities in the energy transition and to benefit from regional electricity to fair tariffs.

The Mayor of Eisenstadt, Successful implementations of energy communities in his municipality and at the same time called for better legal framework to support the energy transformation. He also encouraged other municipalities to search for and become active in order to better use the regional potential.

The current situation in energy policy requires a clear departure from fossil fuels. The RepowerU-Plan provides for the expansion of renewable energies to increase to 45 percent by 2030. In Austria, the federal government plans to obtain 100 percent of the electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Nevertheless, Josef Plank describes that the acceleration of this plan is a demanding task in view of the existing challenges, especially due to the dependence on fossil raw materials.

The formation of energy communities may be a solution. However, there are challenges that need to be mastered. An economic energy community needs a mixture of households and companies, whereby the annual electricity consumption of all interested parties should be around 80,000 kilowatt hours. Acceptance for renewable systems in the immediate vicinity is often low, which makes expansion difficult. DGRV pointed out in this context that the flexibility of the electricity market is particularly important at regional level. Local production and consumption can not only stabilize electricity prices, but also reduce the dependency on external energy sources.

Finally, it can be seen that the energy transition requires a joint effort. Energy communities play a key role here to actively integrate citizens and to develop sustainable solutions for the energy supply of their regions.