Small energy suppliers resist: “There’s nothing we can do more professionally!”

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Bern’s criticism strikes the hearts of small Swiss electricity providers. At the presentation of the new electricity tariffs on Tuesday, Electricity Commission (Elcom) Chairman Werner Luginbühl (65), said: “I assume that purchases are not made with the necessary professionalism everywhere.” Because: In 2024, electricity prices will increase by 18 percent on average. Büttikon AG Municipality is in the leading position with a good 157 percent increase.

There are several reasons for the price increase, according to Elcom. The new and higher taxes, the increase in the market price of electricity, as well as the purchasing strategies of the electricity suppliers in the country are responsible for the high tariffs. Some of them gambled buying electricity and speculated on low prices. According to Luginbühl, the unprofessional purchasing of electricity everywhere has now led to the emergence of this hammer.

Buttikon gets help

And indeed: the municipality of Büttikon admits Blick’s mistakes. “We made a calculation error internally,” said councilor Christian Camenisch, 56. So there has been only a moderate price increase this year and this now needs to be compensated. The authorities forewarned residents of the “massive” high price hike and are now reacting: “outside service providers” will be used in the future to ensure that Buttikon does not stay at the peak of the electricity price and to avoid mistakes to support them.

However, the criticisms of Bern, 20 kilometers west of Büttikon, were not understood. At Kölliken AG, local electric baron Andreas von Gunten (55) comes to the Blick interview on an electric bike. “We work professionally,” says the head of the electricity distributor at once. The SP politician dismisses Elcom’s criticisms, saying “There’s nothing we can do more professionally”.

Small suppliers form purchasing groups

Von Gunten believes it “doesn’t make sense” for small communities or electricity distributors to buy their own electricity. For this reason, Kölliker electricity is purchased by an external electricity company along with other providers. Still, Gunten’s electric tow truck is hitting customers: the price per kilowatt-hour rose 150 percent from 15 cents to 37 cents. “We stay at the level of electricity providers in neighboring communities,” says von Gunten.

Markus Wey (57), Managing Director of Elektra Widen Betriebs AG and President of Elektra Hermetschwil, fills the same gap: “Even though the tariffs of some small providers have increased sharply, they are on average lower than large providers over the years” to many small and medium-sized suppliers in the canton of Aargau advises and strongly rejects Elcom’s criticism: “I can’t understand why Elcom and others are attacking small suppliers now!” After all, the drudgery and efficiency of smaller facilities often leads to lower grid costs, according to Wey.

Source :Blick