Stadtwerke Gießen AG (SWG) will increase its electricity prices by just under nine percent as of 1 January 2009. Natural gas, district heating and water customers will benefit from constant prices.
Manfred Siekmann, CEO of SWG, said in a press conference: "2008 has so far been the year of economic extremes. The trend of rising oil prices since February has gained enormous momentum and reached its peak in July 2008 - a steep price increase can also be observed on the electricity purchasing markets, which has an impact on our purchase prices."
New electricity prices
Customers who purchase electricity from Stadtwerke at the general prices of the basic and replacement supply or at the conditions of the PowerPack product family must expect higher prices from 1 January. However, this will be the only price increase in 2009, as SWG is giving its electricity customers a price guarantee until 31 December 2009 - without any changes to the contract and without extending the contract term.
The labour price of the basic supply will rise by 1.99 cents gross per kilowatt hour to 21.72 Ct/kWh. The basic price remains unchanged. For an average annual consumption of 2,500 kWh for household customers, this will mean an increase of €4.15 per month in future. This corresponds to a percentage price increase of 8.91%. The labour price for the more competitive special products in the PowerPack family will also increase at the turn of the year.
For a PowerPack Private typical average consumption of 4,500 kWh per year, the labour price will rise by 1.79 Ct/kWh to 19.79 Ct/kWh gross. The customer therefore pays €6.71 more per month. That is an average increase of 8.77 %.
The basic prices will also remain constant.
Background information
In order to be able to guarantee a secure electricity supply, the municipal utilities have to purchase the electricity they supply to their end customers well in advance. At the time of the electricity purchase, the average prices for electricity on the futures market of the German electricity exchange EEX rose significantly. For this reason, falling electricity prices will only have an impact on SWG's electricity price in the future. The reason for the rise in wholesale prices is the growing global demand for electricity and the primary energy sources required to generate electricity, such as oil, gas and coal. "The average electricity purchase price rose by 18.7 % over the course of the year. This development on the electricity market cannot be absorbed by our company on this scale," says Ina Weller, company spokesperson for SWG.
Another reason for the rising electricity price is the growing share of renewable energies. Electricity from renewable energies is subsidised under the Renewable Energy Sources Act. These additional costs are passed on to all electricity customers nationwide. An increase in the EEG quota and the average remuneration is forecast not only for 2008, but also for 2009.
Stable gas price
Oil prices are currently falling significantly in the wake of the financial crisis. This is prompting customers to demand a reduction in gas prices. Due to the contractually stipulated averaging of six monthly values, the gas price can only follow the oil price with a time lag. If the oil price trend remains as it is at present, SWG anticipates a gas price reduction on 1 April 2009.
Supplementary conditions
On 1 January, SWG will also change its supplementary conditions for household customers in the electricity and gas supply. In future, the municipal utilities will charge customers certain flat rates if SWG incurs additional processing costs.
Communicating meter readings
Stadtwerke will be writing to around 80,000 electricity customers over the next few days to inform them of the new prices, which will come into effect on 1 January. A personalised meter reading card will also be included in the mail. All customers who wish to read their meter by the deadline of 1 January 2009 can do so using the card and return it to Stadtwerke by 15 January 2009. Customers can also inform SWG of their meter reading on the Internet at www.stadtwerke-giessen.de.
SWG supports energy saving
Stadtwerke supports its customers in saving energy. Because in times of high energy prices, this is the best way to protect the climate and your wallet. Together with the energy experts from the infoCentre, SWG customers can find out what savings can be made in their household. The infoZentrum on Marktplatz is open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm and on Saturdays from 9 am to 2 pm. More information about saving energy can also be found on the Internet at www.stadtwerke-giessen.de.