Rising energy costs Bonn woman complains about being dependent on district heating from Stadtwerke Bonn

Bonn · The energy price for district heating at Stadtwerke Bonn has risen by 140 per cent since October 2021. A customer from Lengsdorf is complaining about a complicated pricing system, the half-yearly increase and the lack of choice.

  District heating from the Bonn public utility company is at present still cheaper than oil or gas. But the costs are rising.

District heating from the Bonn public utility company is at present still cheaper than oil or gas. But the costs are rising.

Foto: SWB

Martina Schürmann is puzzled by how the price for district heating from the Bonn municipal utility is calculated. She is also surprised about cost increases that already hit her before the Ukraine war or during the time of year when there was no heating turned on. "I can't understand that," she says. There are a fixed number of customers - "loyal customers" whose consumption basically remains the same throughout the year. "It must be possible to calculate over a longer period of time with a fixed price." Schürmann is suspicious, because SWB's half-yearly price notification does not seem "transparent". Especially since district heating customers cannot switch to another supplier.

"We have been tied to SWB's district heating network since we moved to Ringelsacker in 2017. We have no choice whatsoever." SWB spokesperson Stefanie Zießnitz confirms: "Every district heating network is a local monopoly." For this reason, she says, there are strict legal guidelines on how district heating prices are established and also regular checks by the cartel offices.

450 former Steag customers

The supplier Steag was originally responsible for Ringelsacker in Lengsdorf, as well as for parts of Brüser Berg, until the area with around 450 household connections was taken over by SWB. "The former Steag territory has now been almost completely converted by the conclusion of new district heating contracts. There is a uniform price system in Bonn for the total of around 2800 customers," says Zießnitz.

Since a district heating network entails high investment costs, the law specifies contract lengths of up to ten years, in contrast to other consumer contracts. SWB offers five- or one-year contracts with automatic renewal. But customer Martina Schürmann wonders why there are price adjustments despite long-term contracts. As Zießnitz explains, “It is agreed in the district heating contracts that so-called price adjustment formulae are applicable.” They regulate the calculation of the price every six months from various indices, such as the capital goods index of the Federal Statistical Office. “SWB cannot influence their development.”

No influence on price development

As of 1 April 2022, Bonn's district heating customers will pay 48 per cent more than they did in the previous six months for the energy they consume ("Arbeitspreis").According to Schürmann, the Arbeitspreis has risen by around 140 per cent since October 2021. "Due to the current energy price crisis, prices will go up again from October," the spokesperson said. The costing is currently being prepared, she said. "We cannot yet say how high the increase will be at this time." Cologne-based RheinEnergie, for example, has announced an average price increase of 73 per cent. Figures from the natural gas exchange (EEX) help determine the price of district heating, and they are now at record levels.

However, according to Zießnitz, a price comparison (cut-off date: 20 July 2022) shows that district heating is currently the cheaper energy supply compared to gas or oil. For a single-family house with a gas consumption of 25,000 kilowatt hours, the annual operating costs amount to about 4,173 euros. With an annual consumption of 2500 litres of heating oil, the operating costs are around 3575 euros. The single-family house with district heating and a heat consumption of 21,250 kilowatt hours would have full costs of around 2779 euros.

Original text: Jutta Specht

Translation: Jean Lennox

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