Electrotechnical standardization in Austria

The Austrian Electrotechnical Association (Österreichischer Verband für Elektrotechnik - OVE) is a community of electrotechnicians - experts and companies dealing with the development and the promotion of their profession, the progress of technics, science and the technical problems that arise whenever electrical energy is applied. Since 1883 - when the Vienna Electrotechnical Society (Elektrotechnischer Verein Wien, EVW) was founded in the context of the International Electrotechnical Exhibition in Vienna - electrotechnicians design the safety regulations on which the riskless use of electrical energy is based.

Through the department "Austrian Electrotechnical Committee" (OEK), the OVE takes an active part, as the representative of the Austrian economy, in the European and international electrotechnical standardization bodies, namely

CENELEC (Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique) in Brussels

and

IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) in Geneva.

The Austrian experts contribute intensively to the production of the future electrotechnical regulations. All concerned circles of the Austrian industry, commerce and trade, science and research as well as consumers delegate their experts to the technical committees, subcommittees and working groups.

The work of the OEK is carried out under public law and with context of the electrotechnical act as well as the decrees that go with it.

After World War II, the former Ministry for Commerce and Reconstruction entrusted the OVE in 1957 with the task to draw up electrotechnical regulations and standards. This mission was embodied by the electrotechnical law of 1965 and by the following implementing decrees. The electrotechnical act of 1992 refers to the OVE in art. 3 as the authority in charge of the elaboration of Austrian electrotechnical regulations.

Two cabinet council resolutions assigned the OVE officially as the Austrian member of CENELEC and IEC in 1975 and 1979.

The OVE supplies the Austrian economy through its department OEK with a European harmonized work of electrotechnical regulations that enables the domestic industry to distribute at least 90 % of its products (which constitute, however, nearly 100 % of the commodity value) on the EU home market without limitation or required national update. The thereby obtained advantage is not only perceived by the manufacturer: with the close calculation of end user prices which is necessary today, these savings are passed on accordingly, much to the benefit of the consumer.