Customer Development at Raiffeisen Ware Wasserkraft

06.12.2001Wien

Since October 1, 2001 the power market in Austria has been open to all end customers. Within a short period RWW (Raiffeisen Ware Wasserkraft), the joint subsidiary of VERBUND and RWA Raiffeisen Ware Austria, won 6000 customers.

RWW Managing Director Michael Heiden attributes this success to the clean energy, the customer-friendly rate and the extra services that are provided.

This was announced by Mr. Heiden at today’s press conference. Alluding to December 6th he said that Saint Nicholas was glad the start into the free power market had been successful, but that his companion Krampus should feel free to give the distribution network operators quite a turn for their excessive rates and those who charge excessive cogeneration surcharges.

The lights continue to be green for RWW. "Households, agriculture, and trade and industry are clearly those who reap the benefits of the power supplied by RWW, and this will not change", said Mr. Heiden. According to the spokesman, 30,000 customers are the short-term business objective for the year to come, and 60,000 by the year 2005. Currently, RWW supplies 4,000 household customers (consumption 15 million kWh), 1,000 customers from the agricultural sector (10 million kWh), and as many from trade and industry (15 million kWh). The RWW customers are currently saving more than 12 million ATS of electricity costs. However, in the region supplied by Wienstrom, one third of the possible cost saving is “eaten up” by the cogeneration surcharge customers have to pay there.

Problem number one are the network providers, where Mr. Heiden still sees “no real unbundling”. Moreover, they refuse to accept night current solutions in some supply areas. It is exactly night current, however, which is part of the RWW “special offer” and one of this supplier’s price strengths. The whole supply package, which consists of 100 percent of clean hydroelectricity, handling of the network user contracts for the customers, one single bill for energy and network, cost-favourable night current, and the customer’s changing over to RWW without any cost, gives him cause for optimism, however, that “the current trend in customer development will continue”.