Although grid fees and a levy rose massively at the turn of the year, SWG's electricity prices remain unchanged.
Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG) is keeping its electricity prices constant. This applies in particular to prices for the basic supply, which SWG was already able to reduce significantly in January 2024. In itself, this news would not actually be worth reporting. "However, we believe that the developments in recent weeks require an explanation," says Jens Schmidt, Commercial Director at SWG. This is because the judgement in which the Federal Constitutional Court declared parts of the federal budget unconstitutional in November 2023 has meant that many other electricity suppliers have had to raise their prices.
What exactly happened? The decision by Germany's highest court forced the Federal Ministry of Finance to block the Economic Stabilisation Fund, among other things. A problem for many electricity suppliers and their pricing. The original plan was to use money from this fund to subsidise the significantly increased transmission grid fees with 5.5 billion euros. As this support is now being cancelled without replacement, German electricity customers will have to bear the additional costs incurred by the transmission system operators in full. In addition, the austerity measures in the federal budget mean that the levy in accordance with Section 19 StromNEV has risen by around 60 per cent. "The state's share has risen by around 1.8 cents per kilowatt hour virtually overnight," calculates Andreas Fuchs, Head of Sales at SWG.
SWG compensates for the increase
As of 1 January 2024, SWG has reduced its electricity prices by between 12 and 16.4 percent - depending on the tariff model. "We are true to our word and are keeping the current prices. Our foresighted, smart purchasing policy puts us in a position to compensate for the increased state share," says Jens Schmidt. In fact, the stock market prices for electrical energy have fallen in recent weeks and months. "We were able to capitalise on this positive development. And of course we are letting our customers participate in this," Andreas Fuchs continues.
In addition, SWG is already working on reducing the prices in the PowerPack Pur tariff in the coming months. "We are very pleased to be able to announce today that our customers on the PowerPack Pur tariff will soon also be able to enjoy a significant price reduction. We will decide in the coming weeks when exactly we will be able to reduce the price and by how much," announces Jens Schmidt. SWG will inform its PowerPack Pur customers in writing as soon as the exact date and the final amount of the price reduction have been finalised.