GEN-I: Large companies save between 7 and 14 percent compared to HEP

Since mid-June, when the Slovenian company GEN-I introduced the Cheap Electricity offer for households and small entrepreneurs, there have been 11,776 inquiries for changing suppliers. Of these, the largest portion of inquiries came from households, totaling 10,590, while 1,186 inquiries were received from small entrepreneurs.

The highest number of inquiries came from the City of Zagreb – 2,474 households and 377 small entrepreneurs. These results reflect the quarterly operations of the Slovenian electricity trader in the Croatian market, presented by representatives of the company at a press conference.

– We are waiting for HEP’s price reduction. That will happen, and then we will also lower our prices – was the first point emphasized by the CEO of GEN-I, Robert Golob, adding that just under seven thousand contracts have been signed and that in August they began supplying electricity to the first 500 consumers of the Cheap Electricity offer, and from September 1, they will supply Cheap Electricity to more than 4,500 consumers.

However, due to the complicated and lengthy process of changing suppliers, a large number of interested parties are still waiting to switch.

– The change process is not as fast as it should be according to the law and as we expected. From the inquiry to actual supply takes between six and eight weeks, instead of two to three weeks. However, we are satisfied, we are moving at a good pace, and I am confident that we will meet our existing plans by the end of the year – emphasized Golob.

He noted that nothing has changed for their users and that they have been receiving electricity without any difficulties. However, now, when they receive their bills, they will notice significantly lower costs.

He reminded that Cheap Electricity offers a 12.5 percent lower price for households compared to HEP’s prices and that they will go another 10 percent below their tariff, thus equalizing the electricity price with that in Slovenia. They will also continue the action of free electricity for the first month, so those users who sign a contract by the end of October will have free electricity, and this benefit has also been extended to those who signed a contract with them during August.

Golob also presented specific savings based on various examples from different cities. For instance, a family of five on Korčula living in a 220 square meter house will save nearly 1,000 kuna by the end of the year.

– The savings will be even greater if HERA approves the price reduction for HEP, as we will then also lower our prices – Golob reiterated, adding that savings are even greater for small entrepreneurs, at 30 percent or more.

There are still a few challenges remaining, with the common denominator being unfinished regulations. These include, as already mentioned, difficulties in the process of changing suppliers, data exchange on consumption, and the biggest challenge is the unified bill. However, they believe that such a bill will be able to be issued within six months.

Speaking in more detail about business users, Golob emphasized for the third time, admitting that he is slightly provoking, that they have been working while HEP was waiting for its price reduction and that they have doubled their portfolio, adding large companies from the tourism sector, trade, and industry such as Istarturist, Konzum, Tisak, Mercator, etc.

They have achieved savings between seven and 14 percent, or, as Golob stated, they have achieved million kuna savings, which is significant for the entire Croatian economy. Currently, they do not plan to adjust their plans and estimates regarding market shares in the household segment, but will wait as the season is just starting. However, they have already adjusted their plans for business users for this year and expect a share between three and four percent, and by the end of 2014, between seven and eight percent.

They will not change their three-year plans for a market share of 17 percent for now. They have also analyzed the natural gas market for Croatia, but due to unfinished regulations, they do not dare to enter that segment of business.

GEN-I has also taken a step further and made a somewhat unusual move – they brought two of their users from Zagreb to the conference who shared their experiences of switching from HEP to GEN-I. Their experiences, of course, are positive.