Energy communities in Austria and the new Electricity Industry Act (ElWG)

In-depth analysis

1. Austria’s pioneering role in energy communities

The concept of energy communities is enshrined in EU law in the Clean Energy Package as a central component of the decentralised energy transition. The EU Electricity Directive (2019/944), most recently amended by Directive 2024/1711, and the RED II Directive (Renewable Energy Directive) (2018/2001) regulate the new market roles of energy sharing and energy communities in various forms. In general, the new market roles enable energy to be supplied directly from the producer to the consumer. An energy community is defined as an association of consumers and producers who jointly generate, consume, store and trade energy among themselves. Most Member States have already implemented the regulations, and in Germany there is an initial draft law dated 15 August 2025 for a comprehensive amendment to the Energy Industry Act (EnWG).

Austria is a pioneer in terms of the new market roles. The requirements for energy communities were first implemented in 2021. The legal basis is provided by the Renewable Energy Expansion Act (EAG 2021) and the Electricity Industry and Organisation Act (ElWOG 2010). By the end of June 2025, there were already over 4,000 energy communities, either in the process of being established or already in operation. This figure demonstrates the practical relevance of energy communities in Austria and opens up new ways of distributing surplus electricity in a value-adding manner. Surplus electricity from renewable sources that exceeds own consumption flows directly into an energy community instead of being fed into the public grid at unattractive prices. Energy communities are possible in Austria at local, regional and national level. The more locally the electricity generated is consumed, the greater the financial benefits – particularly through savings in grid fees. This offers great potential for Austria to promote increased investment in renewable energy sources.

Statement by Lorena Skiljan and Peter Gönitzer, both managing directors and founders of nobile: “Energy communities make it possible to fully utilise the entire output of renewable power plants and use it directly in the region. At the same time, they create independence from fluctuations in the electricity market, ensure stable prices within the community and reduce fees and levies – for example, through reduced grid fees for end consumers and exemption from electricity levies.”

Four forms of energy communities have become established in Austria, which differ primarily in terms of the geographical scope of electricity distribution: The collective generation plant is limited to a single building and does not use the public grid. An example of this is a multi-party property with a photovoltaic system on the roof. The residents within the building share their electricity, which is 100% green, without having to pay any grid fees and thus at significantly lower rates than purchasing electricity from the public grid. If the radius is extended to the grid behind a single transformer station (grid levels 6 and 7), a local renewable energy community is created in which the grid costs of the participants can be reduced by up to sixty per cent. The regional energy community extends even further – beyond the output of a substation (grid levels 4 to 7) – and saves thirty to sixty percent in grid fees, depending on the load profile. The most flexible and unrestricted in terms of grid levels is the citizen energy community. It can cross all grid levels, involves members from all over Austria and allows everyone to sell surplus electricity to the community, albeit without any grid fee savings.

For the energy community model to work economically, feed-in and consumption profiles must be carefully coordinated, as only a high self-consumption rate and a high degree of self-sufficiency can ensure long-term profitability. At the same time, the law requires a separate legal entity; small associations often choose to form an association, while larger structures opt for a cooperative or limited liability company. In addition to establishment and modelling, ongoing operation, correct billing and administration are key challenges. The Vienna-based company nobile has been helping to shape decentralised energy supply in Austria since 2021. Beginning as a start-up and now a scale-up, nobile develops sustainable and cost-efficient models for energy communities and energy sharing. Through its own platform nobile:connected, it informs interested citizens, municipalities, SMEs and large companies about the legal framework, visualises electricity flows and takes on the mandatory billing and administrative tasks. In the market town of Trumau in Lower Austria, nobile has managed Austria’s largest renewable energy community from conception to operation: more than six hundred households benefit for a period of twenty years from a fixed electricity tariff of twelve cents gross per kilowatt hour from wind power and an average self-sufficiency rate of 70% per year. At the Cargo Centre Graz, Styria’s most modern freight transport centre with 31,000 square metres of hall space, nobile modelled its own energy concept in which photovoltaic systems on the hall roofs feed into the company’s internal energy community, thereby supplying the entire site.

nobile is also active in the Alpine region, in the Nassfeld ski resort in Carinthia, demonstrating how solar and hydroelectric power can be used directly behind a shared substation: grid fees are eliminated, surpluses are marketed flexibly, and lift facilities and hotels are gradually growing into the energy community. This keeps energy costs stable, creates regional added value and ensures that green regional electricity is used efficiently. These examples prove that energy communities that are properly planned, legally sound and professionally operated are not only ecologically but also economically convincing in Austria.

New draft of the Electricity Industry Act in Austria

In July, the new Electricity Industry Act (ElWG) was under review in Austria, which is intended to replace the existing ElWOG.

The new ElWG draft significantly changes the framework conditions for energy communities in Austria and expands the possibilities for energy sharing. In addition to energy communities, the law creates the basis for peer-to-peer contracts for the first time, allowing end customers to exchange electricity directly with each other on a contractual basis. At the same time, it introduces the concept of the “active customer”, thereby explicitly anchoring self-consumers in the legal framework. In addition, the draft defines the organiser as a professional service provider for energy communities and imposes certain supplier obligations. These are all steps that close legal loopholes in Austria and put energy sharing on an even more legally secure footing.

Conclusion: Austria has already created a dynamic environment for energy communities with the existing EAG and ElWOG. The new ElWG draft professionalises the model by establishing clear rules for peer-to-peer contracts, the “active customer” and the new role of the “organiser”.