Since 1 April 2006, Stadtwerke Gießen AG (SWG) has opened up its gas network to other suppliers, giving its customers a free choice of gas supplier. At least in theory. This is because, according to information from Stadtwerke, there is currently no other provider that wants to supply gas in the SWG area via a so-called provision.
Manfred Siekmann, CEO of SWG: "We don't want to put any obstacles in the way of gas customers who want to switch from us to another provider. That is why we have opened up our network. However, the profit opportunities for other suppliers are currently so small that they generally do not supply outside their own networks. The customer will most likely have difficulties finding a new provider. Once they have found one, however, they must contact SWG to negotiate the provision of electricity. The customer must also terminate their supply contract with SWG in accordance with the cancellation periods."
In addition, switching to another supplier would hardly be financially worthwhile for SWG customers. This is because SWG's gas prices are quite respectable compared to its competitors:
- In the current price comparison by the WDR programme markt, SWG ranks 144th out of 665 gas suppliers nationwide and is therefore among the cheapest quarter.
- A price comparison of the local gas supply companies for an annual consumption of 30,000 kWh shows that SWG is the cheapest of the regional suppliers mentioned for this consumption.
Annual gross charge for 30,000 kWh of gas in EUR as at 1 January 2006
| <></><tbody>Supplier | |
| .ON Mitte1 | ,786. |
| 32Oberhessengas1 | ,735. |
| 68Enwag1 | ,704.00Stadtwerke |
| Gießen1 | ,695.00<></></tbody> |
SWG therefore believes that it is well equipped for the coming "real" competition in gas. "We hope that practicable competition in gas will soon develop. We are optimistic that we will then be able to win over many customers outside our traditional supply area for natural gas, just as we have done for electricity," says Manfred Siekmann