Stadtwerke Dorfen: Gas prices remain stable, electricity is becoming more expensive

Created: 11/21/2022, 09:00

By: Michaele Heske

Energy prices are a topic that has been causing existential fears among many customers for months, says Klaus Steiner, Managing Director of Stadtwerke Dorfen.

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Stadtwerke Dorfen informs citizens in a letter about increased energy prices, managing director Steiner emphasizes in the citizens' meeting that the municipal utilities are still cheaper than other providers in the region.

Dorfen – Post from the public utility was in the mailboxes of the people of Dorfen on Friday and Saturday.

The letter states that the basic gas supply will remain the same over the turn of the year 2023/2024, but that the electricity price will have to be increased from 2023.

"Energy prices are a topic that has been causing existential fears among many customers for months," explains Managing Director Klaus Steiner.

That's why he commented on it at the citizens' meeting in the Jakobmayersaal, explaining the current status in understandable words.

The good news first: "Even after the price increase, Stadtwerke Dorfen is the cheapest provider in the entire region," says Steiner.

Nevertheless, there is also an electricity price increase for Isenstadt, he regretted.

“The energy price in the basic supply of electricity will be increased by 9.19 cents per kilowatt hour to 48.79 cents.

However, the basic price of 14.88 euros remains unchanged.”

In a model household with an annual consumption of 2500 kilowatt hours (kWh), the annual additional burden is 229.75 euros - 19.14 euros more are due per month, according to his calculation.

"Even if the price increases are very high, the customers of the municipal utility are in a very good position compared to other cities and communities in the region," Steiner compared.

At the Haag power plants, the price increases by 344.19 euros in a direct comparison, Bauer in Buchbach and the Taufkirchen municipal works would also charge significantly higher prices.

"In Dorfen, customers have benefited from our cautious and long-term procurement strategy."

Energy price brake - a buzzword that many people do not know what to do with.

"I'm actually not a big fan of the energy price brake," he said several times during his presentation, but it was the only relief that the state offered.

Steiner explained: "At the present time, a relief measure in the area of ​​gas prices has come into force, which regulates that households and smaller commercial customers will be relieved in the short term by receiving emergency government aid for the month of December 2022 in January 2023, based on the monthly deductions.” The amount of the emergency aid also takes into account possible gas price increases at the end of the year: “It corresponds to one twelfth of the individual annual consumption forecast in September 2022, multiplied by the gas price valid on December 1st.”

Price brakes for gas, district heating and electricity are planned but not yet implemented.

Basically, all three price brakes work according to the same principle: For 80 percent of the forecast annual consumption (normally this corresponds to the previous year's consumption), the consumption-dependent energy price is capped at 12 cents per kilowatt hour for gas, 9.5 cents/kWh for district heating and 40 cents/kWh at the stream.

“The remaining 20 percent is to be remunerated at the contractually agreed price.

As a rule, this price is above the price cap.

This is a real incentive to save energy,” explained Steiner.

"The fact is, however, that the planned, very short-term and complex measures are taking the entire energy industry and the Dorfen public utility company to their limits," explained Steiner.

"But we will continue to do our best so that we can all get through this crisis together," he promised.

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