Good news for gas and district heating customers of Stadtwerke Gießen AG (SWG): The gross prices for these energies will remain stable beyond the turn of the year 2006/2007. "As a result, we are compensating our gas and district heating customers in the standard products for the VAT increase decided by the legislator. "If this had not happened", explained Manfred Siekmann, CEO of SWG, in a press conference, "we would even have been able to reduce these prices due to our current procurement price situation".
Net price reduction in gas and district heating prices
The oil price, to which SWG is still bound in its supply contract with E.ON-Ruhrgas, is falling slightly. This means that SWG can start the new year with lower net gas prices. "However, this reduction only applies to companies, as they are entitled to reclaim the previously paid VAT from the tax authorities as input tax. Private individuals, who do not have this option, can at least look forward to constant prices for natural gas and district heating. "This is because," the CEO continues, "we are not passing on the necessary increase in the labour price (volume-based price) in full to customers. When asked how long the price stability would last, Siekmann replied that they currently expect to be able to maintain these prices until October 2007.
Electricity prices in the general tariff and in the PowerPack will increase
Customers who purchase electricity from Stadtwerke Gießen in the general tariff of the so-called basic supply and in the special product PowerPack must expect new prices as of 1 January 2007. This marks the end of a phase of price stability that has lasted for at least three quarters of a year. SWG's general tariff prices for the basic supply will be increased by 1.32 cents gross to 18.05 cents per kilowatt hour. The basic, performance and billing prices will remain constant net; only the increased VAT will be passed on to customers. The typical household customer with an average consumption of around 3,000 kilowatt hours per year will pay 41.14 euros more per year in future. This corresponds to a percentage price increase of 7.33%. The price increase for the special product PowerPack, for which SWG is not subject to approval, has also already been fixed as of 1 January 2007. The labour price for annual consumption of up to 6,387 kilowatt hours (kWh) will increase by 1.35 ct/kWh to 16.70 ct/kWh (gross). The basic price increases from 99.00 euros to 101.55 euros (gross). For consumption of more than 6,387 kWh per year, the kilowatt hour will cost 18.29 Ct/kWh (gross) from January instead of the current 16.90 Ct/kWh; the basic price will be cancelled in this consumption range. A typical average annual consumption of 4,500 kWh for the PowerPack will therefore be €63.30 more expensive per year or €5.28 more expensive per month. That is an average increase of 8.02 %.
Reasons for the increase
One reason for the planned price adjustment is the increase in electricity procurement costs, while another influence on costs is the legal framework, over which Giessener Stadtwerke, like all other energy suppliers, has no influence. These are determined by the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) and the Combined Heat and Power Generation Act (KWK-G). Customers will clearly feel the effects of the increase in value added tax by 3 % to 19 % in future.
Stadtwerke recommends increasing electricity discounts
SWG customers can have their discounts adjusted by calling the service hotline on 0180 22 11 100 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday. This means that there are no major additional charges in the event of price increases.
Convenient and reliable payment
All customers who have not given SWG direct debit authorisation but pay by bank transfer should always quote their full customer number when making payments. This ensures that SWG can allocate incoming payments immediately and without any problems. If you simply want to save yourself the stress of monthly bank transfers, you can also have your instalments or annual bills conveniently debited from your account. To do this, SWG requires the customer's direct debit authorisation. Customers can issue the direct debit authorisation online at www.stadtwerke-giessen.de or by calling 0180 22 11 100