Frequently Asked Questions – FAQ

Many questions come up again and again. Here you will find the most important answers clearly summarized.

General

Basic information about energy communities, important terms and key topics.

One Energy Community (EC) An energy community is an association of at least two participants who jointly generate, use, and share energy. The term "EC" is an umbrella term for various forms of energy communities.

In Austria, there are several legally defined forms: among others, the Renewable Energy Community (EEG) and the Citizen Energy Community (BEG).

One EEG It enables the shared use of renewable energy in a spatially limited area. BEG However, it can operate throughout Austria and is not bound to a specific geographical proximity. It can only share electrical energy, not heat.

GEA, P2P and EVA These are further terms related to shared energy supply.

At a GEA – Joint Generation Plant – Several participants jointly generate electricity, for example via a photovoltaic system on an apartment building. The electricity generated is used directly within the building.

P2P means Peer-to-peer energy trading and refers to the direct exchange of energy between participants. For example, electricity can be passed directly from one person generating it to another participating person.

One EVA – Self-sufficiency plant This is a system for generating energy for self-consumption. The electricity generated is primarily used directly on site.

EEG WIEN and BEG WIEN are non-profit associations dedicated to the common good of their members. This model was made possible by a groundbreaking legal innovation: Since 2021, energy can be jointly produced, stored, consumed, and sold across property boundaries in Austria.

The legal framework for this was created by the legislator at the national level with the Renewable Energy Expansion Act (EAG) as well as Sections 16c, 16d and 16e of the Electricity Industry and Organisation Act (ElWOG). The EU laid the foundation under European law back in 2019 with two directives: the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) and the Electricity Market Directive (EMD).

No – on the contrary: You will retain your existing electricity provider (for example Wien Energie) even as a member of an energy community (EG).

The reason lies in the interplay of the two supply channels: The energy community provides you with the share of electricity that is produced within the community and can be allocated to you. If this share is ever insufficient, your usual electricity provider automatically steps in and covers the remaining demand. This ensures you are always reliably supplied – as much as possible from the community, as much as necessary from your electricity provider.

If you don't yet have a smart meter at home, we'll gladly help you quickly get an installation appointment with the network operator (e.g., Wiener Netze). It usually takes about two to three weeks to get an appointment.

Incidentally, by law, the network operator is obliged to install a smart meter at your home no later than two months after you join an energy community.

One disadvantage of energy communities in urban areas is their dependence on the weather, as they typically rely almost exclusively on photovoltaic systems. On days with little sunshine, these systems produce correspondingly less electricity, causing the available power supply to fluctuate depending on the weather. Wind or hydroelectric power plants are generally not available in urban environments.

The Union

Everything about the club and club life.

As a non-profit organization, we handle our members' funds with particular care. We therefore consciously choose not to have our own premises – instead, we rely on simple, cost-effective structures. Participation in our energy communities is voluntary and community-oriented; everyone involved does so on a voluntary basis.

Communication within the community therefore takes place primarily online or through personal exchanges – for example, directly between neighbors. Please note: Our association's headquarters is not open to the public.

To ensure the ongoing operation of the association, we charge members a small surcharge per kilowatt-hour as well as a fixed monthly membership fee. This keeps participation fair and transparent for everyone: those who exchange more energy also contribute more to the operation of the community.

Costs and fees

Important information about the posts.

We base our pricing on the market price for green electricity, which is officially set by the Austrian E-Control on the basis of the applicable legal regulations: e-control.at/marktteilnehmer/oeko-energie/marktpreis.

For renewable energy communities (EEG), we set the tariffs anew on April 1st and October 1st – these tariffs are then valid for six months. For citizen energy communities (BEG), however, we set the tariffs only once a year on January 1st, valid for the respective calendar year.

For our association and our renewable energy communities, we apply the Small business regulation This allows us to operate without VAT as long as our annual turnover remains below €55,000 (as of 2026). This exempts us from VAT and means we don't have to pay any VAT – a significant benefit for our customers, who can now purchase electricity without VAT.

In contrast, our citizen energy community – also due to its size – charges VAT as usual and is therefore particularly suitable for companies.

The energy price – often simply called the "electricity price" – is supplemented by numerous other costs. Almost half of these (as of 2024) are so-called ancillary costs such as network charges, levies, and taxes. And this is precisely where a significant amount of money can be saved annually within an energy community!

At a regional EEG The energy tax and the renewable energy subsidy are waived, and you also receive a discount of 28 % on the grid connection fee. In the case of a local EEG (within the same transformer supply area) you also benefit from the elimination of the energy tax and the renewable energy subsidy – here the discount on the network work charge is even significantly higher at 57 %.

The advance payment is collected per customer. If your total consumption exceeds 4,000 kWh per year, our team will inform you of the required advance payment.

The advance payment serves as security for the energy community: it guarantees financial stability should a payment be missed and ensures that feed-in members continue to receive their payments on time. Once your membership ends and all outstanding amounts have been settled, you will receive your entire advance payment back. Prosumers and those who only feed in electricity do not have to pay an advance payment.

Organizational matters

All about billing and processing.

We generally bill quarterly. Unfortunately, network operators – including Wiener Netze – frequently experience delays in providing the necessary data, for example due to faulty communication with the smart meters.

Since we can only process billing once we have received the data for the last member for the respective quarter, this also delays billing for all other members. Therefore, you can normally expect... 8 to 10 weeks after the end of the quarter Expect your bill.

We generally bill retroactively. Initially, you pay an advance via direct debit, which serves as a safety net in case of any payment defaults.

Once we have received all the necessary data from the grid operator, we will prepare the invoice for the respective energy community. We will then debit the outstanding amount from your bank account via direct debit and pay the feed-in partners their compensation.

Should a direct debit be rejected or reversed by your bank, there's no need to worry – after all, you've already set up a down payment. In this case, we'll temporarily deduct the outstanding amount from your down payment, contact you, and attempt a second direct debit shortly thereafter.

However, if payments are missed for an extended period and several outstanding invoices accumulate, we are unfortunately forced to suspend the electricity supply until the outstanding amount is paid.

Currently, we only accept payment by direct debit. For cost reasons and to keep the automated processing as simple as possible, we unfortunately cannot offer other payment methods such as payment by invoice or credit card.

With multiple participation, each metering point can participate in up to 5 energy communities simultaneously. This is controlled by the participation factor, which determines the proportion of each metering point's share in an energy community – the sum of all participation factors must not exceed 100. Multiple participation can be requested at any time; however, adjustments to the participation factor take effect once a day.

Technical

Technical topics related to energy communities.

The meter point number is a unique, 33-digit identification number for your electricity connection in Austria. It usually begins with "AT" and remains the same regardless of the energy provider – even if you switch your electricity supplier.

You can find them on your electricity bill, your Wiener Netze network access contract, or in the Smart Meter Portal the Vienna Networks.

The participation factor (TNF) indicates the proportion of the energy share each member contributes to the energy community. It determines how much of the shared energy is allocated to each member. The participation factor can generally be adjusted at any time.

We are waiting for your question.

If you haven't found your answer in our FAQs, please feel free to contact us directly.