E-Control

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Government regulator for electricity and natural gas markets in Austria

title: "E-Control" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["government-agencies-of-austria"] description: "Government regulator for electricity and natural gas markets in Austria" topic_path: "geography/austria" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Control" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Government regulator for electricity and natural gas markets in Austria ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox government agency"]

Field	Value
name	E-Control (ECG)
logo	E-Control logo.png
formed	March 2001
employees	67
budget	€10 Million
agency_type	Government regulatory agency for gas and electricity
jurisdiction	Austria
headquarters	Rudolfsplatz 13a, 1010 Vienna, Austria
parent_agency	Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour
chief1_name	Walter Boltz
chief1_position	CEO
chief2_name	Walter Barfuß
chief2_position	Member of the board of directors
chief3_name	Georg Obermeier
chief3_position	Member of the board of directors
chief4_name	Johannes Mrazek
chief4_position	Member of the board of directors
chief5_name	Alfred Maier
chief5_position	Member of the board of directors
chief6_name	Gerhard Langeder
chief6_position	Member of the board of directors
website
::

E-Control (ECG) is the government regulator for electricity and natural gas markets in Austria. It was founded in 2001 on the basis of the Energy Liberalisation Act. E-Control's main duty as the independent regulatory authority is to "oversee and to control the Austrian gas and electricity market in the best interest of the consumer".

Functions

On their website the critical consumer can check the prices and conditions of all suppliers on the Austrian market. With more details about the energy usage of the consumer a program on the website can recommend the cheapest provider.

Furthermore, it offers a contact point for complaints and a mediation body to resolve possible conflicts with all Austrian energy providers.

Organisational structure

The agency is owned to 100% by the federal state and consists of several bodies: the E-Control Commission, E-Control GmbH and the Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Labour.

Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Labour

The highest authority in the electricity sector, which has mainly three tasks to fulfill: the supervision of all activities of the E-Control Ltd. and the Federal Government's shareholding in E-Control. Furthermore, it has to establish E-Control's terms of reference.

E-Control Commission

The E-Control-Commission is an independent authority, which is capable of acting on its own without interferences of directors. The commission approves the general conditions for the use of transfer and distribution grids by grid operators. The commission can set tariffs, determines fixed prices and can prohibit use of conditions affecting consumers negatively. They also settle disputes between the market players and take long term measures to ensure the supply of natural gas. It also rules on certain disputes between market participants. The members of the commission are appointed for five years.

E-Control Ltd.

E-Control GmbH is the regulator of the energy system as determined by the ElWOG (Elektrizitätswirtschafts- und organisationsgesetz) and the GWG (Gaswirtschaftsgesetz). Its main task is to support the E-Control Commission in any of its tasks. Moreover, it is responsible for the publication of reports and official statements with regard to market conditions and competition. The company is a non-profit organisation fully owned by the federal government. Its chief executive officer is Walter Boltz. E-Control GmbH is the regulative authority for issues that don't fall under the mandate of the E-Control Commission.

Liberalization

After the implementation of the ElWOG I in 1998 the market opened stepwise, basis for the calculation was the annual consumption of all consumers and after the introduction of the ElWOG II in 2002 the electricity market was finally fully opened to the consumers. Therefore, the consumers are capable of choosing their own provider and moreover they are able to switch between the provider respectively. The grid operation section still holds a natural monopoly, because of the high proportion of fixed costs concerning all grid operations. On the other hand, generation and distribution are fully opened for competition in the free market. There is also a new link between generation and distribution of electricity, namely the "trade section", including traders, brokers and private investors.

The reason for the need of a liberalisation was the power stations and networks were too expensive to build and it took a lot of time (decades) to amortize the investments. Due to this high risk, there were only a few private entrepreneurs, who were willingly to invest in the electricity industry. On the whole technological innovation was the fundament of the liberalization act.

References

[http://www.ris2.bka.gv.at/Dokument.wxe?QueryID=BgblPdf&Dokumentnummer=2000_121_1 121. Bundesgesetzblatt vom 1. Dezember 2000]
[http://www.ris2.bka.gv.at/Dokument.wxe?QueryID=BgblPdf&Dokumentnummer=1998_143_1 143. Bundesgesetzblatt vom 18. August 1998]
[http://www.ris2.bka.gv.at/Dokument.wxe?QueryID=BgblPdf&Dokumentnummer=2000_121_1 148. Bundesgesetzblatt vom 23. August 2002]
[http://www.ris2.bka.gv.at/Dokument.wxe?QueryID=BgblPdf&Dokumentnummer=2002_148_1 121. Bundesgesetzblatt vom 1. Dezember 2000]

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