The state-owned heat and gas provider for Vienna, Wien Energie, will avoid purchasing Russian gas and ensure none is sold to its customers from 2025, according to a statement on Friday (13 September).
Wien Energie is the single biggest buyer and distributor of natural gas in Vienna, supplying power, gas and heat to two million customers, including 460,000 households with district heating.
“Anyone who purchases gas or heat from Wien Energie can be sure that it is not being used to finance Russia’s war,” said Michael Strebl, chair of the board of the company.
Ensuring no Russian gas is purchased will involve costs in the single-digit millions of euros due to the need to switch up supply contracts, which the company says it will not pass on to its customers.
This puts Vienna ahead of the rest of the country, which currently has no concrete phase-out plans for Russian gas.
In July, Austria received 83% of its gas from Russia, with the country importing around six billion cubic metres a year, implicitly helping the Kremlin fund its war on Ukraine.
A recent update of the national security strategy confirmed an EU-wide commitment to replace Russian gas by mid-2027.
Vienna’s utility company last made EU news for its recent pioneering efforts to promote geothermal energy in large cities, as well as during the 2022 energy crisis, when it almost went bust due to a lack of hedging against price spikes.
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