AUSTRIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Bernd Rajal, Maximilian Klein and Moritz Üblagger, Schönherr Rechtsanwälte GmbH
Current Developments in Austrian Case Law Energy Crisis Contribution Act’s impact on energy supply companies: legal and financial implications The ongoing energy crisis and the measures taken to tackle high energy prices have signifi - cant implications for energy supply companies. Specifically, the EU’s emergency regulations and Austria’s implementation of the Energy Cri - sis Contribution Act (EKBSG) impose temporary limits on the surplus revenues of electricity pro - ducers, directly affecting their revenue streams and operations. The EKBSG caps the market revenues of elec - tricity generation plants with an installed capac - ity over 1 MW, aiming to limit the surplus reve - nues earned from electricity sales. The regulation seeks to address the impact of high energy pric - es and the resulting market disruptions on elec - tricity producers, ensuring that these revenues are capped for a temporary period. The Constitutional Court reviewed the consti - tutionality of the EKBSG in December 2024, confirming that the legislator can impose such a levy for a limited time due to market disrup - tions. However, it highlighted the limited applica - tion period of the EU regulation, which originally ended in June 2023. The EKBSG’s application period has been extended until the end of 2024, with plans to extend it further until 2030. This extension, independent of the EU regulation, raises questions about the continued constitu - tionality of the law, potentially opening the door for constitutional complaints. Legal implications of price adjustment clauses in electricity supply contracts For energy supply companies, understanding the legal framework surrounding price adjust - ments in electricity contracts is crucial, particu -
pollutants and climate-relevant gases are to be kept as low as possible, which also applies to the transportation of waste. The Austrian Waste Management Act (AWG) prioritises sustainability through a waste hier - archy, with ongoing reforms. In line with the current programme of the new Austrian federal government, the AWG is to be evaluated and, if necessary, adapted with the aim of optimising processes and increasing procedural efficiency. For example, the possible simplification of the end-of-waste regulations is to be evaluated. Furthermore, the federal government intends to advocate clear and practicable regulations for by-products and secondary raw materials in the interests of the circular economy as well as easier cross-border waste shipments. New Energy Law: Impact on Dominant Market Players and Competitive Practices in the Grid-Bound Sector As a reaction to the energy crisis in the after - math of the Ukraine War, this law was passed on 12 June 2024. In its scope falls the grid-bound energy sector and its intention is to promote competition within the energy markets and pre - vent market abuse. It poses certain restrictions for companies that supply electricity, district heating and piped nat - ural gas which hold (alone or together with other energy supply companies) a dominant market position. Namely, such companies are prohibited from abusing this position by demanding pur - chase or sales prices or other terms and condi - tions that are less favourable than those of other supply companies (or companies in comparable markets). However, this only applies if the com - pany cannot prove that such deviation is objec - tively justified.
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