Heating season begins as oil prices climb 48%

Heating costs are set to rise for many households as almost all energy sources have become more expensive, ORF reported. Heating oil prices are up 48% from a year ago, while gas prices have risen 8%.

Christian Furtwängler of the Austrian Energy Agency said that, based on end-customer prices recorded by Statistics Austria, every major energy source except electricity had become more expensive. Electricity prices were still slightly lower than a year earlier.

In Burgenland, an Austrian state, wood remains a popular heating fuel. The latest figures, from 2023, show that nearly one-third of households use wood or pellets, a higher share than in any other Austrian state. A further 26% use natural gas, 14% heat with a heat pump, 12% with oil and 10% with district heating.

Renewable energy prices have also risen in some cases. Pellets are 32% more expensive, which Furtwängler attributed to higher demand without a corresponding increase in supply. He said more people have turned to wood as a fuel, including those who recently installed wood-burning stoves.

Households are being advised to check their energy tariffs and look for ways to save energy. Furtwängler said costs are lowest when consumers are as independent as possible from external factors, while cautioning that photovoltaic systems also involve significant purchase costs.