Fight against high network costs: Decentralized PV for the future!

Fight against high network costs: Decentralized PV for the future!

The discussion about future energy supply in Austria is increasingly gaining driving. An analysis of the draft on the new electricity and organization law (ELWG) shows significant developments that affect both central and decentralized electricity generation. The original draft dates from January 2024, while a revised version was published in July 2025. As part of a specialist event of the E-Control entitled "What does the new ELWG bring?" On July 29, 2025, important aspects of these changes were discussed. The Oekonews report shows that network expansion costs are increasing significantly, while the amount of delivery decreases at the same time.

Another point concerns investments in transmission and distribution networks that also increase. Against the background, these developments can be seen that the photovoltaic (PV) in Austria for the end of 2024 reports an installed output of 8.2 GW and a produced amount of energy of 8.2 TWH. In 2023 and 2024, 4.558 GW were added, which corresponds to 55.5 percent of the total output. This led to a generation of 4.6 TWh on PV electricity. At the same time, the amount of delivery decreased by about 5 TWH, which corresponds to almost the newly produced PV flow.

Insert network fees and power consumption

In the course of the reforms, possible feed-in network fees are also discussed, which could be located in the "single-digit cent area". The network usage fee for the electricity supply is currently around 7.5 cents. This economic pressure can also be seen in the figures in 2023, where the electricity consumption with only 220 terajoule (TJ) was less than a quarter of the entire annual energy consumption. In comparison, fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal come to 709 TJ and are to be replaced by electricity.

The need for a "ramp-up" of central electricity generation on four times the level of current production is clearly highlighted in the analyzes. Important decarbonization projects, such as the arc high oven at Voest or the electrolyser from OMV, testify to a growing commitment towards sustainable forms of energy. The Viennese lines also carry out tests with an electrolyser for fuel cells to reduce their CO2 emissions.

Collaboration between central and decentralized electricity generation

A central aspect of the discussion is the need to cooperate between central and decentralized electricity generation. Decentralized solutions, such as the generation and storage of energy, can not only reduce distribution network extensions, but also ensure the stability of the operation. For future implementation, sophisticated energy management systems are also required based on distribution network data.

The batteries and PV systems are also increasingly being used by loaders of charging parks and data centers to reduce the maximum connection performance. This means that the focus is not only on new markets for electricity from PV, but also to the obligation of all electricity generators to provide storage for daily fluctuations.

An innovative approach could be in the piloting of seasonal memory to help manage overcapacity and avoid producer shutdowns. The aim of all of these measures is a comprehensive change towards more environmentally friendly energy future, which largely replaces fossil fuels.

In the digital area, Outlook.com, a free personal email service from Microsoft, also went through numerous developments. Originally founded under the name Hotmail in 1996, the service has experienced significant changes over the years, including the integration of modern security functions and data protection guidelines. Outlook.com not only enables users access emails, but also to calendars, contacts and tasks, which made it a comprehensive platform for personal and professional communication. The renaming to Outlook.com in 2013 marked a milestone in the evolution of the service, which now has over 400 million active users.

In view of these developments in both areas - the decentralized energy supply and digital communication - it becomes clear that both technological innovation and regulatory adjustments are essential in order to shape a sustainable and networked future.

For further information on developments in the field of energy supply, the Oekonews site visits Oekonews And for details about Outlook.com Visit the Wikipedia page Wikipedia.