E-Control defends itself against criticism: Austria's gas supply remains stable!

E-Control defends itself against criticism: Austria's gas supply remains stable!

E-Control reacted sharply to the criticism of the Court of Auditors regarding its role during the gas crisis, which was published today. According to E-Control, there was sufficient gas supply for Austria throughout the crisis, thanks to the intensive cooperation with the Energy Ministry and relevant companies. The authority pointed out that it was constantly carrying out close -meshed monitoring for supply security and had reliable, aggregated data on gas demand and storage stands. "All legally provided tasks have been fully fulfilled at all times," said the official declaration, which underlines the importance of the independent regulatory authority, during the largest threat scenario of gas supply in the country's history. E-Control has taken all the necessary measures to be prepared for possible bottlenecks, which ultimately proved to be successful, as they illustrated in their official message, such as ots.at reported.

Effective measures and distribution of information

In the course of coping with the crisis, the e-controlled challenges were exposed to increased challenges in 2022, not least because of the Ukraine conflict, which raised energy prices. The activity report of the E-Control, which was presented today in the Economic Committee, shows that a team of crisis was launched in February 2022 to set the course for security of supply. This included a significant diversification of the gas sources, through which the proportion of Russian gas could be reduced from around 80 % to 53 %. Minister Leonore Gewessler emphasized the extraordinary efforts of the e-control, which has made a decisive contribution to stabilizing the energy supply and aims to be regardless of Russian gas by 2027, such as parlament.gv.at reported.

The amount of energy inquiries has increased significantly during the crisis period; E-Control reported over 260 % of an increase in consulting inquiries compared to the previous year. This shows a greatly increased need for information from consumers in terms of energy prices and supplies. The e-control has set itself up and not only collected all the corresponding data, but also made accessible online to create transparency and to provide comprehensive information on the population. Juicy energy prices and uncertainties were mitigated by targeted communication and advice in order to support people in the best possible manner during this time.