News
Austria Plans to Raise €500 Million From State Holdings to Cut Household Power Bills
Austria aims to generate about €500 million from its stakes in major companies to reduce electricity bills for households, Chancellor Christian Stocker announced. Details of the funding mechanism remain undisclosed, but the government says the plan will remain budget-neutral.
Austria is preparing to use its stakes in several companies to raise approximately €500 million, which will be directed toward reducing electricity bills for households, Chancellor Christian Stocker announced on Wednesday.
The surprise declaration came as Stocker returned to office following back surgery. At the press conference, reporters pressed him for specifics on how the funds would be sourced, but he declined to provide further details.
Austria holds significant stakes in a number of companies, including publicly listed firms such as the oil major OMV, utility provider Verbund, Austrian Post, and A1 Telekom Austria—part-owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim’s América Móvil.
“These €500 million will come from our stakes,” Stocker said, adding that the initiative will be “budget-neutral,” meaning it will not increase the deficit that the centrist coalition government is trying to contain.
“I understand you would like me to explain exactly which company the funds will come from and what mechanism we will use,” he said. “We know how we intend to proceed, and we will finalize the details within the government.”
A spokesperson for OBAG, the public holding company that manages the state’s largest corporate stakes, declined to comment on the announcement.
($1 = €0.8639)
