At its annual press conference on 31 August, Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG) presented its positive result for the 2011 financial year. Stadtwerke Gießen AG's profit totalled 6.2 million euros. The SWG Group achieved a surplus of 5.2 million euros, thus continuing the solid growth course of recent years. The company is distributing 1.5 million euros to the city of Giessen.
When presenting the business figures, Astrid Eibelshäuser, Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board, and the two SWG Management Board members Manfred Siekmann and Reinhard Paul explained what was behind the good result: Despite a decline in electricity consumption across Germany in 2011, SWG increased its sales - from 1122 gigawatt hours (GWh) to 1335.3 GWh. Among other things, several new major customers contributed to this increase. In the business customer segment, Stadtwerke Gießen sold around 31 per cent more electrical energy than in the previous year. "This enabled us to more than compensate for the weather-related decline in gas and heat sales," says SWG CEO Manfred Siekmann. Due to the mild temperatures, natural gas consumption fell by 25 per cent across Germany - and thus even more significantly than at Stadtwerke Gießen, which supplied around 18.1 per cent less than in 2010.
Equipped for the energy transition
The positive figures were not the only reason for Stadtwerke Gießen's positive assessment of the 2011 financial year: Manfred Siekmann and Reinhard Paul also see SWG's strategy confirmed following the accident in Fukushima and the decision to phase out nuclear power. "We have long been pursuing a course of action with the aim of further expanding decentralised generation and relying on plants in the region," emphasises Reinhard Paul and assures: "Unlike many of our competitors, we are very well prepared for this change of course in Berlin." Around 30 years ago, the first combined heat and power (CHP) plant went into operation, generating electricity and heat at the same time according to the principle of combined heat and power (CHP). There are now more than 80 CHP plants, with a total electrical output of around 30,650 kilowatts (kW) and a thermal output of 6,600 kW. "Our district heating network, in which we also invested in 2011, offers ideal conditions for relying on CHP - a particularly efficient form of decentralised energy generation if the heat can be used optimally as it is in Giessen," explains Reinhard Paul. SWG produces around 40 per cent of the electricity it supplies to its private customers itself with these plants. The remaining 60 per cent is generated by TÜV-certified hydropower plants. "We are proud to already be able to completely dispense with electrical energy from conventional power plants. We have therefore awarded our electricity the 'Giessener Grünstrom' label. All of our private customers in the basic supply and in the PowerPack products receive this automatically and without any additional effort," confirms Manfred Siekmann. SWG wants to increase the proportion of CHP electricity from Giessen and the region to 50 per cent by 2020. "This will not only have a positive impact on the local carbon footprint, but also on regional value creation," emphasises Reinhard Paul.
One of the most important milestones on this path was the commissioning of the biogas plant in Großen-Buseck in 2011. A CHP plant there generates around 1.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, enough to cover the needs of around 400 households. In addition to such larger plants, SWG wants to focus primarily on small, flexible CHP units that can be easily controlled and utilised according to demand.
Cooperations for renewable generation
"We are not just relying on one pillar, CHP, for the energy transition here locally and the expansion of decentralised generation," assures Manfred Siekmann and emphasises: "The right mix is the key to success." Stadtwerke Gießen will therefore be joining forces with partners in future, for example to invest in larger wind power projects. After the balance sheet date for the 2011 financial year, 31 December, SWG acquired shares in Windpool GmbH & Co. KG, which buys existing wind turbines and plans, builds and operates new ones. Since 2012, SWG has also held a stake in Energiegesellschaft Lumdatal GmbH, which also builds and operates renewable energy plants. The Staufenberg solar park was connected to the grid in July of this year. "If the opportunity arises, we will examine new collaborations on the one hand and further expand our existing partnerships on the other," says Manfred Siekmann, outlining the strategy for the coming years.
Energy efficiency and grid expansion
Two other topics also play an important role for Stadtwerke Gießen in its focus on the energy transition: energy efficiency and grids. "We need well-developed and modern electricity grids if decentralised feed-in is to increase. We need to equip the grid of our subsidiary Mittelhessen Netz GmbH (MIT.N) today for the constantly increasing requirements in the coming decades," emphasises Reinhard Paul. This is one of the reasons why MIT.N commissioned a new transformer in the North substation in 2011. At the same time, the company is ensuring that sufficient power reserves are available for larger industrial customers.
"We want to continue to contribute our traditional strengths in grid operation, energy supply and generation here in the region in the future. For some time now, we have added another field of activity in which we also worked successfully in 2011: our role as an energy service provider," explains Manfred Siekmann. Since 2009, Stadtwerke Gießen has increasingly focussed on this business area and has developed the "En5" product. In 2011, 42 contracting projects were implemented with business customers and local authorities with the aim of contributing to greater energy efficiency - for example by modernising a heating system. Turnover in the financial year totalled around 2.1 million euros.
"Very good results after a modernisation and a partnership-based cooperation with the customers make this success possible," explains Reinhard Paul. For him and Manfred Siekmann, the construction of the new customer centre on the market square was therefore one of the most important topics in 2011. Construction work began in March of the financial year, and SWG opened the completely redesigned premises at the beginning of May 2012. Reinhard Paul emphasises: "The customer centre now offers more space and a modern ambience. We are also focussing on energy efficiency with the materials and technology used." "Just as it should be for a modern energy service provider that sets an example. We are proud of the result," adds Manfred Siekmann.
31.08.2012