Fairness Guidelines for electricity and gas suppliers (in German)
Fairness Guidelines provide rules of conduct
“Based on these findings and our day-to-day experience, the AFCA and E-Control jointly prepared Fairness Guidelines that recommend eight responsible courses of action to electricity and gas suppliers to protect the interests of consumers and small businesses. These principles are practical rules of conduct that go much further than the existing legal minimum standards,” explained Wolfgang Urbantschitsch, Executive Director of E-Control.
Electricity and gas suppliers are advised in particular:
To strive for pro-competitive behaviour
To call for the non-discriminatory treatment of all customers
To ensure consumer-friendly product design and pricing
To increase market transparency.
A first draft of the Fairness Guidelines was discussed within the industry and among wider stakeholders in an open consultation held from 9 December 2025 until 20 January 2026. Submissions were gratefully received and have been incorporated into the final draft of the Guidelines.
Electricity and gas industry given opportunity to commit to Fairness Guidelines
The AFCA and E-Control will publish the Fairness Guidelines for electricity and gas suppliers protecting consumers and small businesses today (19 March 2026).
“Electricity and gas suppliers are invited to voluntarily commit to these Fairness Guidelines. Those suppliers that undertake to adhere to our guidelines will be publicly listed on the AFCA website. By supporting these fairness principles, electricity and gas suppliers have the chance to visibly demonstrate their sense of responsibility for and commitment to more competition and to acting in the interests of customers in the small-volume consumer market. Our Fairness Guidelines are a simple way of sending a clear signal in favour of fair conduct. Engaging in fair conduct is also a sustainable competitive advantage. In other sectors, such as the food industry, both the Federal Competition Authority and the industry itself have already shared very positive feedback on the application of fairness principles,” emphasised Natalie Harsdorf, Director General of the AFCA.
The Fairness Guidelines can also be found on E-Control’s website:
www.e-control.at/marktteilnehmer/strom/strommarkt
www.e-control.at/marktteilnehmer/gasmarkt