[1] E-Control's main duty as the independent regulatory authority is to "oversee and to control the Austrian gas and electricity market in the best interest of the consumer".

Furthermore, it offers a contact point for complaints and a mediation body to resolve possible conflicts with all Austrian energy providers.

They also settle disputes between the market players and take long term measures to ensure the supply of natural gas.

E-Control GmbH is the regulator of the energy system as determined by the ElWOG (Elektrizitätswirtschafts- und organisationsgesetz) [2][3] and the GWG (Gaswirtschaftsgesetz).

The reason for the need of a liberalisation was the power stations and networks were too expensive to build and it took a lot of time (decades) to amortize the investments.