As of: February 4, 2024, 7:03 p.m
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OMV AG in Vienna.
© Alex Halada/Imago
Austria becomes an important energy supplier due to Russia's war with Ukraine.
Russian gas is exported to other EU countries via Austria.
Austria exported more energy than it consumed for the first time in two decades, with stable natural gas flows from Russia and lower electricity consumption giving a boost to state-owned companies.
The data underscores the uneven impact of the energy crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Even as electricity and gas price shocks forced consumers to curb their consumption, companies like OMV AG and Verbund AG benefited by exporting more energy to Austria's neighboring countries.
OMV reported on Thursday that Russia has delivered all agreed volumes of gas under a long-term contract with Gazprom that runs until 2040.
In the final quarter of last year, the company purchased 5.3 terawatt hours of the fuel per month.
Overall, Austria imported almost twice as much gas as its economy needed, allowing traders to sell just over 90 terawatt hours of the fuel abroad.
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Electricity consumption is falling in Austria
The same applies to the electricity sector, where the state-controlled Verbund AG is the most valuable company in the country.
Electricity consumption fell 5.3 percent, although cheap hydropower generation rose by more than a fifth compared to the previous year.
According to E-Control, Austria was able to transfer more electricity abroad than was consumed domestically for the first time since 2003.
The rising profits of OMV and Verbund were hit with a “windfall tax,” which the government has extended until the end of 2024.
Despite this tax, OMV announced on Wednesday that it will pay investors a dividend that is more than 50 percent higher than expected.
The association, which raised its profit forecast in November, will present its annual results next month.
We are currently testing machine translations. This article was automatically translated from English into German.
This article was first published in English on February 1, 2024 at the “Washingtonpost.com” - as part of a cooperation, it is now also available in translation to readers of the IPPEN.MEDIA portals.