BKW FMB Energy Ltd Annual Report 2003

Sales
Partnership in action – the foundation of success
BKW pursues a strategy based on viable partnership models rather
than cut-throat competition. The aim is to be more than a mere
supplier of power, and to offer customers interesting services tailored
to their individual needs.
Positive growth for Youtility
Created in 2000 on the initiative of BKW
and the Association of Bernese Electricity
Suppliers (BEV), the Youtility AG sales
partnership of regional and local power
supply companies in the cantons Berne,
Solothurn, Jura, Fribourg and Basle
Country, is gaining in importance. In the
year under review the number of members
increased to over fi fty. As before, the
attractiveness of Youtility is based on its
joint marketing of products and services
under the “1to1 energy” brand. The success
and dynamism of this partnership
model are due in no small measure to
consistent implementation of the principles
adopted by all members: tailor-made
customer solutions and the autonomy of
partner companies. Youtility partners can
draw on synergies to offer products and
services developed under the umbrella
“1to1 energy” brand. Simultaneously,
the partnership upholds and enhances
the close relationships forged between
regional suppliers and their customers.
Highly attractive model
Attracted by a model in which partners
exploit synergies arising from shared
market activities while maintaining their
corporate autonomy, AEK Energie AG of
Solothurn and the Stadtwerke Grenchen
(SWG) joined the Youtility consortium in
the year under review. By acquiring new
partners in the canton of Jura, Youtility
also gained an important foothold on the
other side of the linguistic border and, by
so doing, enhanced its position as Switzerland’s
leading marketing platform for
power suppliers.
Price benefi ts for customers
In the year under review, BKW once more
expanded its product portfolio with additional
attractive offerings. On 1 October
2003 BKW launched “1to1 energy modulo”,
a product that offers price benefi ts
to small and medium-sized enterprises
purchasing between 20 and 1,000 MWh.
These price reductions, coupled with price
benefi ts for households scheduled for
2004, amount to some CHF 50 million.
BKW is also passing on to customers the
benefi ts gained from optimised operating
processes and related cost savings. In so
doing, it strengthens the economic power
of customers and partners and enhances
the attractiveness of participating cantons
as centres of commerce.
Eco-power products
As an innovative enterprise, BKW has for
many years been committed to promoting
renewable energies. Eco-power products
such as “1to1 energy water star” and
“1to1 energy wind star” have long been
part of its product portfolio. The long
hot summer of 2003 resulted in a notable
production record for Switzerland’s largest
solar power plant in the Bernese Jura. The
Mont Soleil solar power plant, the Juvent
SA wind power plant on Mont Crosin and
the planned solar power installation on the
roof of the new “Stade de Suisse” stadium
in Wankdorf/Berne, will provide future
access to eco-power for a growing number
of private and business customers.
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