Brussels, 08/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 8 March, the European Commission rejected the provision of the revised Green Electricity Act of Austria that provides for a partial exemption for energy intensive businesses from the obligation to buy green electricity, which is more expensive than normal “grey” electricity. It concluded that this aid would distort competition by giving an advantage to these companies over the others without providing any benefit for the environment.
Companies whose incremental costs from the consumption of green electricity exceed 0.5 % of their net production value could have benefitted from the exemption. Following an in-depth investigation, opened in 2009, the Commission concluded that the aid merely covered the normal operating costs of a company and would have created a distortion that would be to their advantage, requiring other companies and households to buy more green electricity to compensate for the subsidies granted and adding to their energy bills. The Austrian aid, then, is likely to distort competition and may even harm the environment by lowering the incentives for energy saving. (F.G./transl.rt)