The euro sunk below $0.99 on Monday, a 20-year-low, following the announcement last week that Russia would cut off gas deliveries to Germany via the Nord Stream pipeline.
The euro fell 0.70 percent to 0.9884 dollars Monday at 0535 GMT, its lowest since December 2002.
The European currency has continued to weaken against the dollar since the start of the year, hammered by economic turbulence and uncertainties sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
READ ALSO: What the dollar-euro exchange rate means for Americans in Europe
Russian gas giant Gazprom said Friday the Nord Stream pipeline due to reopen at the weekend would remain shut indefinitely.
It said it had discovered “oil leaks” in a turbine during a planned three-day maintenance operation, and that the pipeline would remain closed until it was repaired.
Resumption of deliveries via the pipeline which runs from near Saint Petersburg to Germany under the Baltic Sea, had been due to resume on Saturday.
Following the imposition of economic sanctions over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia has reduced or halted supplies to different European nations, causing energy prices to soar.
The Kremlin has blamed the reduction of supplies via Nord Stream on European sanctions which it says have blocked the return of a Siemens turbine that had been undergoing repairs in Canada.
Austrian residences will benefit from a price brake as the government seeks to contain rising prices. But will it be in place for second homes as well?
Austria has announced a price cap on electricity, which will last until June 30th 2024, benefiting every household in the country, according to Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP).
The price of electricity will be subsidised up to a consumption of 2,900-kilowatt hours, the government said. Until that limit, it will cost only ten cents per kilowatt hour – the energy price from before the current energy crisis.
Above that consumption limit, people will have to pay market prices for what they consume.
At the same time, lower-income households, as well as those with more than three persons, will be able to apply for further assistance.
READ ALSO: How could Austria’s new electricity price brake benefit you?
Those who are exempt from the broadcasting fees (GIS), meaning they are lower-income, will receive an additional subsidy of up to €200. Additionally, households with more than three persons can apply for further relief, Nehammer said, without giving further details.
The government says these measures were to ensure that the subsidies would “secure people’s basic electricity needs”.
But what about people with second homes?
One question that arose after the announcement of the price cap and the further measures destined to help people of low income was whether those at the other end of the spectrum, particularly those with a house and a holiday home in Austria, would benefit as well.
It’s a generous system which will cost up to €4 billion to public coffers, and the Finance Ministry has said that they prefer the measures to reach everyone as quickly as possible rather than they take too long but be targeted.
So, everyone who uses electricity will get the subsidy, whether they draw it for their primary residence, their second home, their holiday or no residence at all (i.e. businesses).
READ ALSO: When will Austria make the €500 anti-inflation payment and how do I get it?
For example, if you own an apartment in Vienna and a holiday home in Salzburg, you can have your electricity consumption subsidised twice. If you live in the UK and have a home in Tyrol, your holiday home will still benefit from the subsidy.
According to Statistics Austria, there are 1.2 million second homes in Austria.
There is also no distinction in income or number of people in a household for the subsidy – the only differences are the “extra” assistance for lower-income or homes with more than three people.
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