Background information

Due to increases in energy prices, the federal Austrian government put together a relief package worth €1.7 billion. Part of the package provides an energy costs compensation worth €150 for all households, except high-income households. Besides this measure, the suspension of green electricity contributions and the inflation compensation payment for those most in need are also part of this first relief package.

Content of measure

In order to support private households in the face of rising energy costs, a voucher worth €150 was sent out to all private households. Upon redemption of the voucher, €150 are deducted automatically from the annual energy bill, from mid-2022 onwards. Single-person households with an annual income of €55,000 and above and multiple-person households with an annual income of €111,000 and above are exempted from receiving a voucher. If the voucher is redeemed by persons belonging to this group, and it is detected, the voucher has to be paid back and no fines occur. In total, the measure's budget is €600 million. The measure is implemented via the Act on energy costs compensation 2022 (Energiekostenausgleichsgesetz 2022).

Use of measure

The measure targets around 4 million households. Information on the actual redemption of the vouchers will be available in 2023.

As of mid-March 2023, around 3 million vouchers have been issued, which corresponds to a relief volume of around €440 million. Around 86% of the vouchers already submitted were deducted from the annual electricity bills, which has relieved 2.5 million households with a volume of €375 million.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Does not apply to businesses	Applies to all citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Other social actors (e.g. NGOs)	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

The social partners were not involved in the design, implementation or monitoring of the measure.

Views and reactions

The Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) and Chamber of Labour (AK) voiced criticism on the measure, saying that it did not far enough and it had poor the timing (second half of 2022 instead of immediate effectiveness). Instead, the ÖGB has called already in late 2021 for a winter package against rising heating costs, including direct subsidies for low-income households, a reduction in value added tax on gas and electricity and a shutdown freeze on unpaid bills.

Sources

• 17 February 2022: Exploding energy costs: ÖGB demands suspension of VAT (www.oegb.at)
• 08 April 2022: Energy costs compensation Act (www.ris.bka.gv.at)
• 17 March 2023: Energy cost compensation: 3 million vouchers worth EUR 440 million submitted – the deadline for submission is the end of March (www.bmf.gv.at)