04 Jul 2017

Energiewende offers opportunities for municipal utilities

Handelsblatt

Germany’s shift from fossil and nuclear power generation to an energy system based on renewables and energy efficiency offers big opportunities for the country’s roughly 900 municipal utilities (or Stadtwerke), writes Jürgen Flauger in the business daily Handelsblatt. While an analysis by rating agency Euler Hermes shows that most of them are currently ill equipped and likely to see deteriorating finances, a more decentralized energy system can play to their strengths. “The municipal utilities have to finally adjust their power generation rigorously to the Energiewende and fight for their customers with better services and new products,” Flauger argues.

Find the article (behind paywall) in German here.

Get background on the big utilities fight for the market in the Energiewende in a CLEW dossier and background on municipal utilities in a factsheet.

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