The price increase on the electricity market does not stop at Giessen. Electricity customers of Stadtwerke Gießen AG (SWG) will have to prepare for a price increase on 1 April 2005. After the company had already announced an increase for its PowerPack Private electricity supply contract in February, the new price for the general tariff has now also been finalised. The labour price of the general tariff will rise by 0.43 cents per kilowatt hour (Ct/kWh) to 16.73 Ct/kWh gross. The basic price, which is made up of the performance price and the clearing price, will rise by EUR 4.20 to EUR 59.30/year gross.The price increase using a concrete example: An average household customer with an annual electricity consumption of 2,850 kWh will pay EUR 536.11/year in future, which is EUR 16.46/year or EUR 1.37/month more than before. For this customer, this corresponds to a price increase of 3.17 per cent.Manfred Siekmann, CEO of SWG, on the background to the price increase: "We are also a customer when purchasing electricity and are therefore dependent on the procurement costs for electricity on the market. These procurement costs have risen considerably over the past year. Like every other market participant, we have to pass these additional costs on to our customers." Another reason for the price increase is the higher costs due to the Renewable Energy Sources Act. In total, around 40 percent of the gross electricity price is accounted for by taxes and levies over which SWG has no influence. "Unlike most of our competitors, we will not be increasing our electricity prices until 1 April and not as early as 1 January 2005, i.e. a quarter of a year later. This is time in which our customers have saved money," says Manfred Siekmann about the timing of the price increase. "Even after this price increase, we remain one of the cheapest electricity providers in Hesse. "Good news for gas and district heating tariff customers: prices will remain stable until the end of September 2005.
30.03.2005