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28.07.2014

In 2013, Stadtwerke Gießen once again increased its electricity, gas and heat sales. The company was thus able to surpass the very good results of the previous year once again. The basis for success in the anniversary year: the long-term strategy, investments over the past decades and innovative services. These building blocks will continue to form the foundation for further development in the future.

2013, the anniversary year of Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG), was a success in every respect - as evidenced by the figures presented at the annual press conference on 25 July. The surplus at Stadtwerke Gießen AG totalled 7.3 million euros. This corresponds to an increase of around 1.5 million euros. Equally positive: the annual result of the SWG Group. It totalled around 9.6 million euros in 2013 and was therefore around 2 million euros higher than the previous year's record. The company is distributing 2.5 million euros to SWG's sole shareholder, the city of Giessen, and when they presented the figures last Friday, Supervisory Board Chairwoman Astrid Eibelshäuser and the two SWG Management Board members Manfred Siekmann and Reinhard Paul were extremely satisfied. "An extremely long winter, which stretched into April, contributed to the increase in gas and heat sales compared to 2012, among other things.
However, the sales successes in 2013 - with private customers and business customers - should not be neglected either," explained Manfred Siekmann. The latter include, for example, companies with a natural gas consumption of well over 10 million kilowatt hours. Overall, gas sales in 2013 totalled around 1382.1 gigawatt hours (GWh) - heat sales amounted to 432.6 GWh. For district heating, this corresponds to an increase of 33.5 GWh or 8.4 per cent. "The result in terms of electricity sales is just as pleasing and can be explained in a similar way," said Reinhard Paul, pointing out: "Our purchasing strategy is convincing here in the region and many customers far beyond the traditional grid area. For example, we have been supplying the Max Planck Institute in Garching with electricity since last year." Compared to the previous year, electricity sales climbed by 121.7 GWh to 1,588.4 GWh in 2013 - an increase of around 8.3 per cent.

Success factor energy services
In addition to the pure sale of electricity and natural gas, another business area has been contributing to SWG's success for several years now - energy services called "En5". "Innovative services are now a natural part of our portfolio. The days when we only sold energy are long gone," emphasised Manfred Siekmann. Since it was founded in 2009, the "En5" business segment has established itself - both regionally and nationally. In 2013 alone, Stadtwerke Gießen acquired 25 new customers, mainly from the commercial sector. These include, for example, Bauverein Darmstadt AG, for which SWG set up a modern heat supply system based on combined heat and power (CHP). Since then, 60 flats in Giessen have been receiving climate-friendly energy from a combined heat and power plant.2013 was not only a very positive year for the two Management Board members and Astrid Eibelshäuser due to the sales figures and sales successes presented. SWG's 75th anniversary also contributed to this picture. "When our employees and we think about the past year, we do so with pride and a satisfied smile," assured Reinhard Paul. A significant milestone: the 75 good deeds in which SWG has supported associations, social and cultural organisations and institutions in Giessen and the region. "The greatest thanks must go to the employees and many helpers who worked hard to make these campaigns such a success," emphasised Manfred Siekmann.

Tailwind for future challenges

"The positive look back should motivate us to consistently pursue our chosen course in the future, while at the same time setting the course for the future today and constantly readjusting our strategic direction," noted Reinhard Paul. "This is exactly what we tackled last year," added Manfred Siekmann, adding that Stadtwerke Gießen continued to develop its "SWG 2015" corporate strategy under the name "SWG 2020". The goal is clearly formulated: to utilise the current tailwind to equip SWG for future challenges. This includes a progressive organisational and employee strategy, a modern local transport strategy, a grid strategy that meets the requirements of the energy transition and a continuation of the expansion strategy in the successful fields of district heating expansion, decentralised energy supply and energy services. In the latter, the topic of energy management systems, for example, is becoming increasingly relevant. The company plans to launch a corresponding product on the market this year to support industry and commerce in sustainable management. "Since the end of 2013, anyone can read about how the current tasks can be mastered and the hurdles of the coming years overcome - in a book by two authors from our company," said Reinhard Paul. In "Ein Stadtwerk stemmt die Energiewende", SWG company spokeswoman Ina Weller and Matthias Funk, Head of SWG Heat Supply, describe the company's visionary and practical approach. The focus is on decentralised generation in highly efficient CHP plants and the use of thermal energy.

Green electricity for Giessen and the region
By 2020, around 50 per cent of the "Giessen green electricity" that SWG supplies to private households is to come from CHP plants. A target that is by no means too ambitious. Stadtwerke Gießen has already achieved a figure of around 40 per cent. This makes the company one of the pioneers in Germany. This success is the result of a path that SWG embarked on around three decades ago, as Reinhard Paul explained: "We have been implementing the concept that is considered modern and sustainable today since the early 1980s. That was when the first combined heat and power (CHP) plant went into operation and the number of CHP plants has grown steadily in the meantime. "Reinhard Paul believes it is particularly important that SWG's expansion strategy is based on several pillars. "We are relying on a mix of many smaller CHP plants throughout the city, large plants such as the thermal residue treatment and energy supply plant (TREA) and forward-looking milestones such as the biogas plant in Heuchelheim," Reinhard Paul listed. The authorisation procedure for a TREA II is currently underway. It should help to significantly increase the proportion of climate-friendly energy generated in Giessen in one step. The biogas plant in Heuchelheim, on the other hand, has been producing green electricity for around 600 households and heat for around 160 single-family homes since the end of 2013. "A showcase project that proves it: Great things can happen here in the region when experts work well together." When designing the biogas plant, Stadtwerke Gießen cooperated with the Technical University of Central Hesse, among others. This partnership helped to optimise the fermentation processes to such an extent that the plant is one of the most efficient in its class in the whole of Germany.

Climate-friendly - on a small and large scale
SWG also regularly contributes its CHP experience and expertise in heating networks to projects throughout the region. To date, the company has built heating networks and heating centres in several municipalities - including towns and municipalities in the district of Giessen and the Wetterau district. And the concept is also setting a precedent far beyond the borders of Central Hesse. In 2014, Stadtwerke Gießen took over the heating centre of a new housing estate in Pulsen, Saxony. "We have made countless steps forward on our path over the past few years," said Reinhard Paul. His fellow board member Manfred Siekmann added: "I am proud of what we have achieved so far. Personally, I would like to thank everyone who has contributed every day so that I can hand over the helm in a few months' time with peace of mind. "Manfred Siekmann will retire at the end of November 2014. He will be succeeded by industrial engineer Jens Schmidt - currently Managing Director at RWE Netzservice GmbH in Siegen.