Vienna gas connections stagnate as heating transition slows

Vienna’s shift from gas and oil heating to climate-friendly alternatives is progressing slowly, with more than half a million gas meters still registered in the city. The figures were reported by ORF.

Vienna aims to become climate-neutral by 2040. According to the city’s 2024 energy report, around 10,000 people cancel their gas connections each year. That figure has stagnated for several years, which experts say is too low to meet the climate targets.

People should invest now in improving their homes because every euro spent on optimisation can reduce future energy costs for heating, according to Hauskunft, an advisory centre run by Vienna’s housing fund. It offers free advice on issues including thermal renovation.

Demand for consultations has risen since oil and gas prices increased during a series of crises, said Alexandra Bauer, head of the advisory centre. However, consultation numbers also fall when subsidies expire or receive smaller budgets. Hauskunft recorded 2,710 consultations this year.

Heat pump sales fall

Sales figures from the Association of Austrian Boiler and Heating Industries show that the energy transition is also losing momentum nationwide. About 15,000 heat pumps were sold in Austria during the first half of the year, a quarter fewer than in the same period last year.

At the same time, 15,600 gas boilers were installed, roughly matching the figure for 2025. Sales of oil boilers increased by 8 percent, with 500 units installed. The association said it does not have sales figures for Vienna.

Federal and state subsidies are available to support climate-friendly heating systems. The most important federal programme is the renovation initiative, which has a budget of 360 million euros for 2026 and covers up to 30 percent of the cost of switching to a climate-friendly heating system. The budget was exhausted at the beginning of July, and no new applications have been accepted since then. Another 360 million euros is planned for next year.

Vienna subsidies remain available

Vienna residents can still apply for heating-system grants, the decarbonisation premium and the eco-renovation flat-rate grant. The heating-system grant covers 35 percent of the cost, or up to 8,000 euros for houses and 5,250 euros for apartments. It is part of the “Get out of gas” initiative, which supports switching from gas and oil to systems such as air-to-water heat pumps.

The decarbonisation premium provides an additional 1,000 euros when a property is fully converted away from gas, rising to 1,500 euros when an entire building becomes gas-free. Apartment owners and tenants are eligible to apply.

The eco-renovation flat-rate grant applies across Austria. If more than 2,000 euros remains to be paid after all subsidies have been deducted, applicants can claim a tax benefit of five payments of 400 euros. These grants are separate from the exhausted federal subsidies.

Tenancy law slows gas phase-out

Vienna housing councillor Elke Hanel-Torsch of the Social Democratic Party said the city was strongly pushing to end the use of oil and gas. One obstacle, she said, was tenancy law, which does not always allow landlords to replace a functioning gas heating system with a more climate-friendly system against tenants’ wishes. Negotiations on the issue are currently under way, she said.