The provincial utilities are regional monopolies. Since lack of competition in the electricity sector has hindered efficiency, the Government will be implementing a law to introduce competition in the electricity sector, implementing the EU Directive. The initial proposal described in this report was a rather complicated system with many single buyers with third-party access elements. The report recommends introducing competition in the electricity market through clear legislation. The final proposal made after the drafting of this report has changed the system to a regulated third party access, which is a welcome development, in line with the report calling for simplification of the complicated system in the initial proposal.
Local governments are heavily involved in the utility sector.
In Vienna, the utility is part of the city government itself. The report states that utility should be an independent legal entity, corporatised and with unbundled accounts for each part of its business. It recommends the government to investigate whether there are obstacles to full commercial management of the electricity industry. The Austrian Government has impressive achievements in promoting renewable sources of energy, in line with its long-term energy objectives. However, the promotion of new renewables should not distort competition as is now the case with some projects.