The first court hearing between the Vorarlberg energy company illwerke vkw and the plaintiffs because of the electricity price increase should have taken place on Friday at the beginning of April. This was adjourned, however, because one now wants to settle out of court.
The Illwerke VKW are striving for an out-of-court settlement with the plaintiffs after the Vorarlberg energy company was sued because of the electricity price increase at the beginning of April. The first court hearing, which was supposed to take place on Friday, was adjourned because both sides have started talks to reach an agreement, according to a report by “ORF Vorarlberg” on Friday.
The Dornbirn lawyer Clemens Pichler had sued the electricity supplier because of the price increase, while the Illwerke VKW consider the increase to be permissible. If no agreement can be reached, the courts must decide the case. The next hearing is scheduled for the week after next.
Class action lawsuit over electricity price hike
At the beginning of April, Illwerke VKW increased the electricity price for household customers from 10 to 24 cents per kilowatt hour, which annoyed some customers. However, the state government introduced an electricity discount that will keep the electricity price more or less constant even after April 1st. Nevertheless, the Dornbirn lawyer Clemens Pichler is planning a class action lawsuit against Illwerke VKW and has already filed around 50 lawsuits.
New tariff from July 1st
Illwerke VKW terminated the plaintiffs’ contract with the option of switching to another provider or concluding a new contract with Illwerke VKW as of July 1st.
Illwerke VKW has announced that it will reduce the electricity price to 18.7 cents per kilowatt hour as of July 1 and will guarantee this price until March 31, 2025. However, customers must actively sign up for a new contract in order to receive the new tariff.
