Municipal association sounds the alarm Here's how the municipal utilities in Bonn and the region are organised
Bonn · In view of the horrendously high purchase prices for gas, the Association of Municipal Enterprises (VKU) warns of ominous scenarios for municipal utilities if more and more household customers are no longer able to pay their bills. So how do the local municipal utilities assess the current situation?
For some weeks now, the first companies and private households have been receiving letters from their gas suppliers announcing horrendous price increases. These are not double-digit, but triple-digit increases: 500, 600 percent and more are to be charged for gas deliveries from autumn onwards. At present, only some customers whose price guarantees have expired or who have switched to low-cost suppliers without having long-term supply contracts could soon find themselves in trouble. But more people could soon be affected.
Are energy companies about to face large-scale payment defaults? And what will happen then? The Association of Municipal Enterprises (VKU), in which municipal utilities are also organised, is sounding the alarm. In an interview with the Reuters news agency, the association's CEO Ingbert Liebing warned that if ten, 15 or even 20 percent of customers were no longer able to pay their gas bills, it could pose a threat to the municipal utilities.
Stadtwerke Bonn see themselves in a good position
Stadtwerke Bonn (SWB) points out that the position of the municipal utilities is very different. "From an economic point of view, we would still be able to operate even in the event of payment defaults and we have adjusted our credit lines as a precaution," press officer Stefanie Zießnitz informed us. " In case there is a deficit of an SWB subsidiary, the subsidy requirement can theoretically increase, which should then be covered by the shareholders and thus also by the city. We are in a solid economic position and have also come through the Coronavirus pandemic very well so far."
Stadtwerke Troisdorf also describes itself as "solidly positioned". The company has been able to react flexibly to the upheavals so far. "Of course, we cannot look into the future and predict how further developments will affect our financial situation. However, our clients can be assured that we are doing our best and doing everything we can to overcome the crisis together."
Unprecedented crisis
At Stadtwerke Bad Honnef, there have also been no noticeable payment defaults yet. Everything else is shrouded in the mist of uncertainty: "It is impossible to predict how the coming months will develop, as there has never been an energy crisis like this before," explains Daniela Paffhausen, head of marketing at Bad Honnef AG. The group's financial situation is still good, she says, because it has a forward-looking procurement strategy.
For the time being, the only thing left for the municipal suppliers to do is to get their customers into the habit of saving gas, because that could ease the strain on their household budgets. "In addition, we strongly advise you to adjust your own instalments to the current situation," explains Aline Ellermann, who is responsible for communication at the Troisdorf municipal utilities.
SWB spokesperson Zießnitz reminds people to quickly get in touch with her colleagues in the receivables management department in case of impending late payments, so as to avoid energy cut-offs. She promises: "We are trying to keep the part of the electricity and natural gas prices that we can influence constant over the winter. However, we have to pass on the newly introduced or increased surcharges on gas to our customeres." (Original text: Ulla Thiede / Translation: Jean Lennox)
