EnBW Area of Activity

EnBW has over 6 mln. customers. The core activities of EnBW are divided into three business areas: Electricity, Gas, and Energy and Environmental Services. The Electricity area is divided into Electricity generation and trading, and Electricity grid and sales divisions. It generates electricity from nuclear power, hydropower, solar power, geothermal energy and wind power, among others.
In the area of electricity generation EnBW is one of the ten largest companies in Europe. In terms of the installed generation capacity as of the end of the fiscal year 2010, it was in eighth place. EDF has by far the largest generation capacities in France. With regard to Germany, EnBW is number three in electricity generation, after E.ON and RWE. Since 2009, EnBW has been involved in a joint venture to expand generation capacities in Turkey, primarily in the area of renewable energies.
EnBW is one of the four transmission system operators in Germany and operates various grids in Baden-Württemberg. EnBW’s electricity distribution network has a total length of 162,101 km; the combined length of all of EnBW’s high, medium and low pressure gas grids comes to 17,984 km.
In terms of the number of customers and unit sales, the EnBW group is the third largest electricity supplier in Germany. In its home market of Baden-Württemberg, EnBW is the market leader in the B2B and B2C customer groups. The national sales brand Yello supplies electricity to retail and business customers throughout Germany. The Watt brand stands for the nationwide provision of energy and systems services to SMEs and chains.
The Gas Division consists of the midstream area, including the import agreements and infrastructure, storage, trading, as well as the downstream area, including the distribution and sales. The extension of the value added chain in the gas segment is intended to make a contribution to reinforcing the group’s market position. Traditionally, EnBW has gas operations in its home market of Baden-Württemberg, but has customers throughout Germany as well. GVS supplies natural gas to more than two thirds of the towns and municipalities in Baden-Württemberg. ENSO is well established on the market in the region of eastern Saxony. Stadtwerke Düsseldorf AG, in which EnBW holds shares, has a large share of the market in that region.
The Energy and Environmental Services Division includes such areas as thermal and non-thermal disposal, water and other energy related services.
In terms of revenue, EnBW is one of the largest companies operating in the area of energy and environmental services in Germany and is one of the leading providers of contracting services. In this respect, ESG is one of the leaders in the German industrial contracting market. In Baden-Württemberg the EnBW group is one of the market leaders in the field of thermal waste disposal. Stadtwerke Düsseldorf AG is similarly the market leader in the field of waste disposal in the Düsseldorf region. In the field of water supplies, EnBW achieved an 11% market share in Baden-Württemberg in 2009, making it the largest single water supplier in the state.

EnBW Customer Service
The fierce competition on the German electricity market continued in all customer groups in 2009. The competition for retail customers in particular is characterised by a large number of regional and supra-regional providers. Willingness on the part of customers to switch providers is on the increase. According to the German Energy and Water Association (BDEW), as many as 60% of all retail customers have switched their electricity provider or changed to a different electricity tariff since 1998. In this context, the portion of customers who have switched to a new provider once or more than once increased throughout Germany from 18.9% to 20.5% in the period from December 2008 to September 2009. The competition for retail customers is often marked by very aggressive pricing in order to capture market share. In Baden-Württemberg, EnBW succeeded in defending its good market position despite the more intense competition. The company positions itself with high standards of customer service and attractive customer loyalty schemes. A special green electricity product was received very positively in Baden-Württemberg. In autumn 2009, a large number of customers were offered a rate involving an energy-savings bonus and a price guarantee. EnBW’s customer service has received awards from independent organisations on several occasions. Once again in 2011, our customer service received a very good score in a consumer test by the ServiceRating organization. In contrast to many competitors, EnBW has actively taken up the topic of energy efficiency and provides support to its customers in the form of innovative products, such as the EnBW Intelligenter Stromzähler® (intelligent electricity meter), which has been on offer from EnBW since autumn 2008; EnBW is the first energy supplier, and so far the only one in the state, to provide a product of this kind. In 2009, we additionally launched an energy-savings campaign in Baden-Württemberg under the name of “Weniger Verbrauch geht auch”. Following the launch in December 2008, Yello was the first electricity company to provide an intelligent meter throughout Germany and even in 2009 remained the only nationwide provider of an intelligent electricity meter for retail customers. Yello similarly succeeded in maintaining its market position despite intense competition, thanks to its high level of prompted brand awareness reaching 97%.
The competition for B2B customers intensified even further in 2009 as a consequence of the general economic climate. Customers who had concluded contracts prior to the decline in electricity wholesale market prices were under exceptional pressure, an issue that was frequently reflected in the ensuing contractual negotiations. There is generally greater willingness among industrial customers to change provider than other customer groups. The competition is dominated firstly by the German major energy suppliers and secondly by foreign and regional providers. The activities on the part of local municipal utilities made a contribution to the prevailing competition in the past fiscal year. EnBW is countering the intense competition by extending its range of trading-related electricity products. A web-based customer portal for the management of energy contracts has been built up. High standards in advice and service are the basis of EnBW’s customer relationships, which are often long term. The EnBW energy efficiency networks are an example of our activities that create added value for customers and boost customer loyalty. Since 2009, this has been supplemented by a franchise model, which is currently undergoing a trial period.

Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
The Porter's Five Forces tool is a simple but powerful tool for understanding where power lies in a business situation. Michael Porter created it in reaction to the then-popular SWOT analysis, which he found unrigorous and ad-hoc. He developed this concept to help businesses become more profitable and to help governments stabilize industries. Porter has identified five competitive forces that shape every industry and every market: industry rivalry; buyer power; threat of substitutes; supplier power and threat of new entrants. These forces determine the intensity of competition and hence the profitability and attractiveness of an industry.
When applying Porter’s Five Forces Analysis, one should always start with Industry Rivalry, because this force has an influence on all other forces.
Industry Rivalry: There are three major electricity generation companies in Germany: E.ON ,RWE, and EnBW. Together they generate 80% of Germany’s electricity, and E.ON and RWE alone-60% Overall the degree of rivalry is considered moderate in Germany.

Buyer Power: Buyer power is considered to be moderate in the power generation industry. It’s because of the lack of competition. Germany had 8 big electricity producers before 1997. Then the market was liberalized and the number has fallen because of the mergers and takeovers.
Threat Of Substitutes: Threat of substitutes is weak. Even though new technologies continue to enter the market, there are long periods of testing and large capital investments needed to produce facilities with the capacity to compete with the existing ones. An increasing threat is considered to be auto-generation by industrial users and micro-generation by smaller end-users in the form of solar panels and wind turbines.
Supplier Power is strong in this market. For example, a nuclear plant is heavily reliant on the providers of its nuclear fuels. Supplier power is greater, especially when there is the risk of oligopoly. Supply from countries with large natural resources increases their supplier power.
These situations can also become politically problematic where the supplier is a state-owned facility. Russia’s huge resources of natural gas, of which Europe is a primary consumer, can be and have been a political bargaining tool.

The Threat of New Entrants: The threat of new entrants is moderate. The key factors influencing this force are the high level of investment required in technology and raw materials, requirements for expertise, the need to find suitable locations for power plants

Social Responsibility
EnBW: “ We take responsibility not just when it comes to energy. We are continuously working on finding the optimal energy mix of the future. But also social engagement is important for us.”

Germany is a country of ideas and it should stay that way. That is why EnBW supports the German Federal Government’s initiative “Partner for Innovation”. The working party “Impulskreis Energie” involves scientific and political experts under the guidance of EnBW working on identifying potential for innovation in the energy sector and making it usable. This leads to projects such as the energy-efficient redevelopment of schools – a signal which, for example, ensures that the dishwasher or dryer only turns on when the electricity is particularly cheap.
An important incentive for districts to become involved with the project is the financing model. The energy efficiency measures will predominantly pay for themselves through the energy savings made. For three schools in Baden-Württemberg, the problem of financing will not even be an issue, because the renovations will be financially supported by EnBW.

EnBW’s most important incentive: through this project, thousands of students will receive observation lessons on the theme of energy efficient construction. So will parents and teachers.

EnBW also promotes ideas which do not come from them. To support start-up companies and forward-looking developments and to stimulate the location of Germany, they sponsor, for example, the “Innovation Prize of the German Economy” for start-up companies. Under the auspices of the Federal Minister for Economics and Labour, every year significant company innovations are awarded with this award
EnBW has been endowing this prize for several years in the category of "Start-up Companies" – companies, which are less than 5 years old.

With this commitment they are contributing to the creation of a general atmosphere which promotes performance, supports existing skills and furthers the drive of start-up companies. The aim is to continuously win over the markets with new products and to strengthen Germany as a business location.

With the project “Group Restructuring as Process Innovation using the Example of EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG”, EnBW reached the final round in 2005 of the “Innovation Prize of the German Economy” in the large company category.

The jury said that the reason they awarded us the prize was that the company had impressively demonstrated with its group restructuring as process innovation how a large company, which used to have “monopolistic structures”, can be transformed into a highly competitive top company which has strong revenues and be revitalised, while avoiding operational redundancies and significantly increasing occupational health and safety for its employees. EnBW also manages the “Baden-Württemberg Energy Research Foundation” which has been supporting research, development and demonstration projects since 1989.

EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG takes social responsibility as the third largest energy company in the Federal Republic of Germany, both in the social and in the cultural areas. As a company whose name indicates its origin and home, we feel particularly responsible for the culture and people of Baden-Württemberg.

In the rooms at the two large Group sites Karlsruhe und Stuttgart, EnBw presents to anyone interested in art four of their own exhibition series: "Studio Insights", "Release and Art", "Showcase for Design" and "Treasure from the Region". Art and artists from their home Federal State of Baden-Württemberg. The individual exhibitions are conceptualised and carried out on their own or in cooperation with renowned cultural institutions. Furthermore, they have entered into a special and close partnership with two of the country’s most well-respected cultural institutions, the ZKM (Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe) and the Stuttgart Art Gallery, which should be further developed in the future.

As a unique and architecturally innovative exhibition site, the showroom of their representative office in Berlin, the capital city of the Federal Republic of Germany, offers room for new ideas, innovative presentations and modern art. It should create impetus, "new ways of thinking" and inspiring energy.

“EnBW is one of Germany's best employers.”
This was the result of a company ranking list published in the business magazine “Karriere”. The investigation was carried out by the Munich Geva Institute and the Corporate Research Foundation.“

“We are pleased that EnBW is one of the top employees in Germany. An attractive and creative working environment is important to us, because apart from the innovative power, the ability of a company to attract employees is a decisive factor in its future economic success”, said Dr. Bernhard Beck, Member of the Board of Management and Chief Human Resources and Information Officer of EnBW.

“We develop career and future prospects.”For the coming year, EnBW will take on 334 trainees and students at Colleges of Advanced Vocational Studies and Tertiary Institutions. In October 2005, a total of 933 young people will be training with us. With a training quota of 8.65 %, EnBW is one of the front runners in Baden-Württemberg – even compared to other large energy companies.