Austria

Energy efficiency obligation scheme for energy suppliers

Provincial support for housing construction, energy, and the environment

Domestic Environmental Support (Umweltförderung im Inland – UFI)

Federal support for green electricity

Energy taxation

Motorway tolls for HGVs

Austrian Federal Government’s ‘renovation initiative’

klimaaktiv mobilclimate initiative

Climate and Energy Fund

(source: policy measures with energy savings in 2021 reported in Austria 2023 NECPR – National Energy and Climate Progress Report)

Domestic Environmental Support (Umweltförderung im Inland – UFI)

Climate and Energy Fund

Policy package to increase fuel efficiency in road transport (mineral oil taxes,  car registration tax based on fuel consumption, tolls for trucks, and eco driving initiative)

Policy package for thermal improvement of the building stock (Housing Support Scheme – ‘Wohnbauförderung’, with higher grants when exceeding the minimum energy efficiency requirements for major renovation; Building Renovation Initiative for Commercial/Institutional buildings – ‘Sanierungsoffensive für Betriebe’; and the Building Renovation Initiative for Residential Buildings – ‘Sanierungsoffensive für Private’; Provincial support for building renovation, energy, and the environment).

Policy package for climate neutral new buildings (Housing Support Scheme – ‘Wohnbauförderung’ with higher grants when exceeding the minimum energy efficiency requirements for new buildings; Provincial support for housing construction, energy, and the environment).

Replacement of Fossil Fuels in Building Stock (Housing Support Scheme – ‘Wohnbauförderung’ with higher grants when exceeding the minimum energy efficiency requirements for new heating systems; programme Stepping out of Oil and Gas  – ‘Raus aus Öl und Gas’; Awareness raising measures part of the federal Climate Protection Initiative – ‘klimaaktiv’; Provincial support for replacing heating systems)

The Austrian energy regulator E-Control is responsible for monitoring of Article 7/8 implementation in Austria. The tasks include:

• Collection of necessary data on policies and actions implemented via an online database from public authorities and funding organisations.
• Securing the calculations of reported energy savings comply with EED requirements
• Summarising energy savings and preparing the reports to national level and EU

For the calculation of energy savings, a document with deemed energy savings values has been created by E-Control. In addition, there is a guidance on the calculation of individual energy efficiency actions.

The control of implemented actions lies in the competence of organisations in charge of the respective subsidy schemes.

In principle, all four methods mentioned in Annex V of the EED for calculating the savings for different types of action can be used: ‘deemed saving’, metered savings’, ‘scaled savings’ and ‘surveyed savings’. However, the majority of actions is evaluated using either the deemed or the scaled savings approach.

The Federal Energy Efficiency act from 2023 foresees the following regulations on energy poverty:

• Energy suppliers are obligated to offer energy advice to households, especially energy poor households.
• A coordination organisation dealing with energy poverty is installed. This organisation will be the focal point for all matters concerning energy poverty. Specifically it will:
  • Ensure the continual exchanges of relevant actors (public authorities, social NGOs, energy suppliers…)
  • Development targeted measures
  • Support in the qualification of social organisations in energy matters
  • Provide information to consumers
  • Contract studies and draft reports on the status of energy poverty
• Concerning the energy savings achieved by measures of the federal government:
  • at least 34% have to be achieved in households
  • at least 3% have to be achieved in energy poor households

The federal government has implemented a number of energy efficiency policy measures targeting energy poverty (most of them will also be reported for Article 7/8):

• ‘Clean heating for everybody’ started in 2022 and supports the exchange of a fossil heating system to a renewable heating system with up to 100%.
• ‘Climate fit buildings for those in need of protection’ is a subsidy scheme for the thermal insulation of buildings and the exchange of a fossil heating system to a renewable heating system with up to 100%.
• ‘Saving energy in households’ is an advice and subsidy scheme targeting the exchange of old inefficient household appliances.