How a German town reclaims its grid to have control of its power

Photograph: Lucas Schultze, getty Images

Wolfhagen, a town of 14,000 people in central Germany, originally leased its power grid to a large private company called E.ON. Energie. It still had its municipally owned electricity supplier, Stadtwerke, which was run by Martin Ruhl. When E.ON’s 20 year licence was approaching expiry, Ruhl thought Wolfhagen should reclaim the grid for itself - a process of remunicipalisation. He started negotiations in 2003.

The move to privatised utilities over the world, such as using E.O., has led to higher prices and/or worse services. Big energy companies such as E.ON. have been accused of overcharging the public. Wolfhagen was one of the first cases of remunicipalisation in Germany. The desire for more public ownership of services is growing worldwide. See: Reclaiming Public Services: How cities and services are turning back privatisation.

Ruhl negotiated with the multinational for three years and finally in 2006 a compromise was reached. His town had won control of its own grid, the Stadtwerke. The documentary An Inconvenient Truth was shown to the town’s people. Ruhl wanted the now-public Stadtwerke to go 100% renewable in electricity and heat by 2015 and eventually the people agreed.

At first this meant installing a lot of rooftop solar and a large wind farm. To raise the millions needed to build the wind farm, the town sold a quarter of the energy firm’s shares to locals in a citizens’ co-op. Other measures to achieve the goal included biomass, biogas and improving energy efficiency. In fact, 4 wind farms were built; 500 solar arrays installed on rooftops and a local solar park was built. The goal was achieved in 2015.

"Visit the Stadtwerke today and Rühl’s successor, Alexander Rohrssen, will list its achievements. A profit every year, which has not only paid off the bank loans but funds the town’s kindergartens. Generally cheaper electricity than most competitors, including E.ON. The number of staff has almost doubled and this still-small enterprise has won national prizes for its innovation on reducing energy use."

For further details see: How a small town reclaimed its grid and sparked a community revolution. The Guardian, March 1, 2018.