The monopoly of the old black electricity meter has come to an end. The metering and measuring market (40 million households) has just been opened up for competition nationwide and Yello is the first and only energy provider to unveil an intelligent electricity meter: the Yello Sparzähler online. Yello’s Executive Director Dr. Peter Vest explains: “From Flensburg to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, from Aachen to Görlitz – everyone in Germany can now have an intelligent electricity meter and automatically benefit from the cheaper rates during off-peak periods. In addition to this, customers’ electricity consumption will become fully transparent to them for the first time, enabling them to control it with greater efficiency and save even more money while contributing to environmental protection.“
The Sparzähler provides a diverse and previously unknown range of functions that gives customers superior control of their electricity consumption: the Yellometer makes it possible for a customer to track down electricity guzzlers. With the new monthly online bill, the customer only pays for the exact amount of electricity that he or she has actually used that month, similar to a phone bill. The Yello Sparzähler identifies off-peak electricity periods. The customer then has a real-time overview of his or her entire house online around the clock. As Dr. Peter Vest says: “The Sparzähler online actually belongs in every modern household because it increases energy efficiency and provides transparency in addition to electricity cost savings. The product features of the Yello Sparzähler online are fundamentally different than what is available from competitors who either haven’t had the ability or the desire to offer these sorts of services.” For the first time, every customer throughout Germany has a true alternative to the black meter. “Consumers can vote the old electricity meter out of office”, Vest continues. “In a democracy it’s free citizens who vote, in the energy market it’s savvy customers. That’s what Yello stands for.“
The Yello Sparzähler is available at an inexpensive package price for customers who already have yellow electricity. The monthly fee for the services and advantages of the Sparzähler package vary depending on region and it is included in the base rate for electricity. In this rate it is also regarded that the rent the customer had been paying every month for the old meter is no longer necessary. The customer automatically receives a discount on the working electricity price during the off-peak period that varies depending on where he or she lives. There is a one-time fee of 79 EUR for installation. A Yello technician takes care of everything and even sets up the customers’ personal Sparzähler accounts in their PCs. Switching out the old meter for the yellow Sparzähler couldn’t be easier.
With the Sparzähler online, Yello is setting a new watermark for competition. After growing strong following the energy market’s liberalization that allowed for a choice among electricity providers, Yello saw another opportunity to usher in a new era in the metering and measuring market and stand, as always, for a customer’s right to choose in every area of the grid nationwide. Dr. Peter Vest: “In 1999 Yello was the first and only company in Germany to offer a product to switch electricity providers that was a true alternative to local providers. The competition laughed at us at first, but they ended up copying us; the result is that we have real competition now. We’re first once again, now in the new metering and measuring market! We’re putting an end to electricity meter torture and offering customers a choice.“
Yello is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG. With 1.4 million customers, Yello Strom is among the ten largest electricity companies in Germany. Since 2007 Yello has expanded its operations to Sweden, gaining an international presence.
We'll gladly provide press material in English on the Yello Sparzähler online upon request.
Berlin, December 2, 2008