VIENNA, May 6 (Reuters) - Austria is looking to address the fact that even utilities that generate much of their electricity from renewables are profiting from surging gas prices that are linked to power prices, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

"This unusual situation is particularly difficult to comprehend in the case of energy companies that the state holds stakes in," the ministry said, echoing comments by Chancellor Karl Nehammer in a newspaper interview that sent shares of state-owned utility Verbund sliding on Thursday.

Austria also owns 31.5% of energy company OMV.

At Nehammer's request the ministry is examining "various suggestions and models" to help ease the current crisis, the ministry said, adding: "The state should not profit from the current crisis while people are suffering from sharply rising electricity prices."

Austria buys 80% of its gas from Russia and the war in Ukraine has caused a surge in energy prices that has strained household budgets and prompted the government to introduce measures to cushion the blow to most consumers.

Nehammer, however, has raised the prospect of somehow targeting Verbund, which is 51% owned by the Austrian state and generates around 95% https://www.verbund.com/en-at/about-verbund/company/business-segments/electricity-generation of its electricity from renewable sources, primarily hydropower.

"I understand thinking about what can be done to ease the burden on people and companies," Verbund Chief Executive Michael Strugl said in an interview with the Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

"But intervening in the market only leads to undesirable effects. If you make electricity so cheap that investments in renewables no longer pay off, then you have to fund them with taxes."

Verbund has the important task of investing in renewables, Strugl said, adding: "The only way for us to bring prices down in the medium term is to build a lot of renewable production quickly." (Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Sandra Maler)