OREANDA-NEWS. Berlin Energie, a state-owned company applying for the electricity-network concession in Berlin, will now also be supported by E.DIS AG, an E.ON subsidiary. The two companies announced today that Berlin Energie will receive E.DIS’s support in the application phase and also, if it is awarded the electricity-network concession, in the handover phase and in network operations.

Berlin Energie and E.DIS aim to work together as network operators to help the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan area become an international pacesetter in sustainable energy.

“From the beginning, Berlin Energie’s application to the state licensing office called for a complete and total remunicipalization of Berlin’s electricity distribution network,” Berlin Energie Managing Director Wolfgang Neldner said: “Fully in line with the recommendations of “New Energy for Berlin,” a commission convened by the Berlin House of Representatives, we want to serve as Berlin’s first-ever municipal network operator for both power and gas. Consequently, I’m pleased that Berlin Energie can count on the support of a strong and innovative partner like E.DIS in the ongoing licensing process as well as in long-term development.”

E.DIS CEO Bernd Dubberstein said: “Our parent company, E.ON, recently expanded its activities in Berlin significantly. Our partnership with Berlin Energie represents the next logical step. E.DIS has worked closely with its municipal partners to help shape the energy transition in the region around Berlin. Now we can apply our energy-transition expertise to the development of the capital city’s networks and enable Berlin Energie to benefit from our practical experience.”

The partnership with E.DIS supplements Berlin Energie’s existing support network of more than 20 companies, further strengthening it for the ongoing licensing process. Berlin Energie’s plan for operating and managing energy networks and integrating renewables should, with E.DIS’s support, be implemented faster and more cost-effectively. This is fully in line with Berlin’s commitment to protect the earth’s climate and promote the German energy transition while also providing a rapidly growing metropolitan area with a highly reliable energy supply.

In conclusion, Berlin Energie’s Managing Director said: “We would like to to this opportunity to announce that yesterday Berlin Energie submitted its bid for the electricity-network concession to the Senate Department of Finance. Our bid calls for the complete remunicipalization of the network.”

Berlin Energie, which is owned by the federal state of Berlin, was founded in 2012 to enable the state to participate in the process for awarding the concessions for Berlin’s power and gas networks. As a state-owned company, Berlin Energie is a separate but legally dependent part of the Berlin administration. Its purpose is to conduct business operations. It is part of the Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment and has its offices in former terminal building of Tempelhof airport. Since its foundation, Berlin Energie has worked very closely with Berlin’s other large state-owned companies, including the water utility (Berliner Wasserbetriebe, or BWB) and the transportation authority (Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe, or BVG).

E.DIS, which has 1,400 employees and 30 facilities, ranks among Germany’s largest regional energy companies. It operates the power and gas distribution networks in large parts of the federal states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Its roughly 79,000 kilometers of lines and cables provide reliable energy service 24/7 in an area encompassing 36,000 square kilometers. E.DIS partners with many municipalities and offers a wide range of technical and infrastructure services. E.DIS, an E.ON subsidiary, has strong regional roots: municipalities in Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern own 33 percent of its capital stock.