Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday
Reaction to government's decision to use coal, no more 'air tax' for Vienna's restaurants, storms and more news from Austria on Tuesday.
Reaction to Austria’s switch back to coal
Two years ago, Austria stopped using coal to generate electricity, the second country in Europe to do so. As The Local reported on Monday, the government has now announced it will again use the coal-fired power from the Styrian power plant in Mellach to generate electricity and heat. Broadcaster ORF reports many experts and environmental protection organisations are calling on the government to push ahead with an Energy Efficiency Act, which will create legal requirements to save energy. The previous one expired in 2020.
Environmental economist Sigrid Stagl told ORF that Austria had overslept the switch to renewable energies and had not adapted the necessary structures for energy and electricity generation in the last 20 to 30 years. Austria is in trouble. The reopening of Mellach also shows the "extent of desperation" felt by the government, she said.
The Wiener Zeitung newspaper comments it is “almost tragically ironic” that Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) has to re-open the decommissioned coal-fired power plant in Mellach. The paper notes in July 2020, she took part in a ceremony in which ex-Verbund boss Wolfgang Anzengruber handed over the last piece of coal from Mellach.
READ MORE:
- What is Austria’s emergency plan if Russia cuts gas supply?
- Austria to convert coal power plant as Russian reduces gas deliveries
‘Air tax’ for Vienna’s restaurants abolished
Restaurants in Vienna will no longer have to pay an "air tax" when awnings or canopies protrude into public spaces from next year. According to an estimate by the City of Vienna, Viennese companies should save an average of around 800 euros per year. Taxes on potted plants, showcases and unlit self-advertising will also be abolished. A fee will continue to be charged for illuminated advertising.
The Chamber of Commerce and the Social Democratic Business Association welcomed the abolition, broadcaster ORF reports. According to the Chamber of Commerce, the end of the "air tax" is a relief for companies in times of rising inflation.
A third of households in Austria do not have enough income to live on
The sharp rise in inflation means around a third of the households in Austria do not have enough income, Der Standard newspaper reports. The Ministry of Finance has just presented the first report of a newly established group of experts, including representatives from Wifo (Austrian Institute of Economic Research), to analyse the development of inflation. They expect an inflation rate of 7.5 percent for this year and five percent next year. Just a few weeks ago the experts predicted 6.5 percent in 2022 and 3.2 percent in 2023.
READ MORE:
Vienna relaxed about gas stop
Although Austria is worried about how to keep the lights on as gas deliveries from Russia reduce in volume, in Vienna there is another alternative to the Mellach coal-fired power plant in Styria. According to broadcaster ORF it is also possible for Vienna heating plants to run on oil. Michael Strebl, CEO of Wien Energie said this would not require the plants to be converted or retrofitted. Energy is also generated in the capital from waste burned at the Spittelau plant, which supplies more than 60,000 households.
In addition Vienna’s natural gas storage facilities are currently 84 percent full, more than usual at this time of year.
Heavy thunderstorms and hail in parts of Austria
Heavy thunderstorms swept through parts of Austria on Monday and caused severe damage through heavy rain, storms and hailstones up to the size of a golf ball. Initially, Salzburg and Upper Austria were hit hardest by the storms, in Carinthia the districts of Spittal, Hermagor, Villach-Land and Wolfsberg were particularly hard hit, and there was flooding in a village in the Lavant valley. Graz was hit by large hailstones.
Dann doch spontan eine Kaffeepause #Graz #Hagel pic.twitter.com/HJreMR3QtA
— Hartwig M Кnapp (@HMKnapp) June 20, 2022
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Reaction to Austria’s switch back to coal
Two years ago, Austria stopped using coal to generate electricity, the second country in Europe to do so. As The Local reported on Monday, the government has now announced it will again use the coal-fired power from the Styrian power plant in Mellach to generate electricity and heat. Broadcaster ORF reports many experts and environmental protection organisations are calling on the government to push ahead with an Energy Efficiency Act, which will create legal requirements to save energy. The previous one expired in 2020.
Environmental economist Sigrid Stagl told ORF that Austria had overslept the switch to renewable energies and had not adapted the necessary structures for energy and electricity generation in the last 20 to 30 years. Austria is in trouble. The reopening of Mellach also shows the "extent of desperation" felt by the government, she said.
The Wiener Zeitung newspaper comments it is “almost tragically ironic” that Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) has to re-open the decommissioned coal-fired power plant in Mellach. The paper notes in July 2020, she took part in a ceremony in which ex-Verbund boss Wolfgang Anzengruber handed over the last piece of coal from Mellach.
READ MORE:
- What is Austria’s emergency plan if Russia cuts gas supply?
- Austria to convert coal power plant as Russian reduces gas deliveries
‘Air tax’ for Vienna’s restaurants abolished
Restaurants in Vienna will no longer have to pay an "air tax" when awnings or canopies protrude into public spaces from next year. According to an estimate by the City of Vienna, Viennese companies should save an average of around 800 euros per year. Taxes on potted plants, showcases and unlit self-advertising will also be abolished. A fee will continue to be charged for illuminated advertising.
The Chamber of Commerce and the Social Democratic Business Association welcomed the abolition, broadcaster ORF reports. According to the Chamber of Commerce, the end of the "air tax" is a relief for companies in times of rising inflation.
A third of households in Austria do not have enough income to live on
The sharp rise in inflation means around a third of the households in Austria do not have enough income, Der Standard newspaper reports. The Ministry of Finance has just presented the first report of a newly established group of experts, including representatives from Wifo (Austrian Institute of Economic Research), to analyse the development of inflation. They expect an inflation rate of 7.5 percent for this year and five percent next year. Just a few weeks ago the experts predicted 6.5 percent in 2022 and 3.2 percent in 2023.
READ MORE:
Vienna relaxed about gas stop
Although Austria is worried about how to keep the lights on as gas deliveries from Russia reduce in volume, in Vienna there is another alternative to the Mellach coal-fired power plant in Styria. According to broadcaster ORF it is also possible for Vienna heating plants to run on oil. Michael Strebl, CEO of Wien Energie said this would not require the plants to be converted or retrofitted. Energy is also generated in the capital from waste burned at the Spittelau plant, which supplies more than 60,000 households.
In addition Vienna’s natural gas storage facilities are currently 84 percent full, more than usual at this time of year.
Heavy thunderstorms and hail in parts of Austria
Heavy thunderstorms swept through parts of Austria on Monday and caused severe damage through heavy rain, storms and hailstones up to the size of a golf ball. Initially, Salzburg and Upper Austria were hit hardest by the storms, in Carinthia the districts of Spittal, Hermagor, Villach-Land and Wolfsberg were particularly hard hit, and there was flooding in a village in the Lavant valley. Graz was hit by large hailstones.
Dann doch spontan eine Kaffeepause #Graz #Hagel pic.twitter.com/HJreMR3QtA
— Hartwig M Кnapp (@HMKnapp) June 20, 2022
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