REPOWER

Cooperation strategy and customer service

Cooperation strategy and customer service

Repower continued to pursue its cooperation strategy in the Swiss market in 2012. Repartner Produktions AG enjoyed a successful first financial year. The Taschinas hydropower plant in Prättigau met generation expectations in the first full year of operation, while active asset management and generation from the two wind farms in Lübbenau and Prettin (Germany) also had a positive effect. Repartner Produktions AG gives Swiss energy supply companies access to diversified power generation both at home and abroad. The power generation portfolio will be gradually set up and is designed to generate around 1,800 gigawatt hours of annual electricity from water, wind and gas power in the end phase. In addition to Repower, eight partners have invested in Repower Produktions AG.

In autumn 2012 Repower invited its customers in the Swiss supply region to choose from four power products. As one of the first energy supply companies in Switzerland, Repower already offered certified green electricity under the label “PUREPOWERgraubünden” back in 2000. The “Solarpower”, “Aquapower” and “Mixpower” products have now been added to the product range. “Aquapower”, which is generated hundred per cent from Swiss hydropower, is sold as a standard product starting on 1 January 2013. At the end of 2012, 32 per cent of customers contacted actively opted for one of the products. A majority of them chose the low-cost product “Mixpower”. Overall, nine per cent of customers explicitly want electricity from hydropower and three per cent selected one of the other two green electricity products. These experiences demonstrate increased customer awareness of the electricity source on the one hand, while the high number of customers who chose the residual mix shows that demand for electricity from renewable sources is not yet very pronounced.

Repower launched an energy efficiency portal together with other energy supply companies and worked with Swisscom Energy Solutions on a project for dynamic consumption management. We will discuss these issues in detail on pages 20 to 23.

The Italian sales market posted a slightly lower sales volume of 4.25 terawatt hours (-5.3%) compared with the previous year due to the economy-related drop in demand. The customer portfolio also had to be optimised due to outstanding payments. The Repower Group relies on high quality customer service and on tailored products as well as innovative services in all of its markets. In Italy, this includes, for example, the “PUNT'avanti” product or the “Verde Dentro” service. With “PUNT'avanti” customers can view the electricity price traded on the stock exchange for the next day on a personal web portal. They can compare these prices to their own electricity consumption curve and thus identify potential savings. The “Verde Dentro” service, in addition to supplying certified green electricity, provides an e-mobility service and a software application which measures the energy efficiency of devices and thus helps to positively influence consumption and costs.

The model the Group is pursuing in Germany is similar to the one in Italy. Repower focuses on the segment of small and medium-sized companies and has been supplying these with electricity and since 2012 also with gas. The electricity sales volume rose sharply again year-on-year. Thanks to tailored products, Repower has successfully concluded multiyear contracts with a number of customers in Germany. A solid customer base was established in the gas business in the first year. Expansion of sales business goes hand-in-hand with building up a network of sales representatives.

The Romanian sales market has recovered from the difficult year experienced in 2011. Measures on the procurement side coupled with price adjustments and optimisation of the customer portfolio contributed to the recovery. Sales volume increased by seven per cent, with the focus on small and medium-sized end customers (<20 GWh per year). The market in Romania is likely to open up further in 2013 as a result of the new energy law and the insolvency proceedings of the state electricity producer, Hidroelectrica. As contractually stipulated, the minority shareholder of Repower Furnizare România S.r.l., Ion Grecu, withdrew as shareholder in autumn 2012. With the takeover of the 20% minority share, the Romanian sales company now fully belongs to Repower.