Nobody stuck themselves in front of the entrance to the Stadtwerke headquarters. Instead, climate protectionists wrote their demands on pieces of paper and hung them on a clothesline and distributed flyers. The activists of the “Open Anti-Capitalist Climate Meeting” accuse the public utilities (SWM) of “greenwashing and price usury”.
They criticize SWM’s advertising campaign: “Today: 90% green electricity for Munich,” says the poster. That is misleading. If almost all of the electricity consumed in Munich is green, why is SWM doubling the price with reference to the gas price? According to the critics of capitalism, most of the electricity used in Munich comes from fossil sources.
Yes and no, an SWM spokesman replies to an SZ query: “The accusation of greenwashing is pointless.” As early as 2008, the plan was to produce enough green electricity by 2025 to cover all of Munich’s needs. This goal has been achieved 90 percent. But that doesn’t mean that almost exclusively green electricity flows through the lines, it’s rather a mix of different sources.
The business works like this: You sell the self-produced, largely green electricity on the electricity exchange and buy the electricity you need in Munich there. That is why the price is also rising in Munich, because it is determined by the most expensive power plants, currently those operated with gas. And why is the poster saying “90% green electricity for Munich”? There is little space on a poster, because “the connections are of course presented in a focused manner”.
The climate activists base the accusation of price usury on district heating on a comparison with other cities, where district heating is sometimes considerably cheaper. The reference to the expensive gas used to produce district heating conceals SWM’s failure to use more climate-neutral energy sources such as geothermal energy. The increased prices hit people in Munich, which is expensive anyway, particularly, says Jakob Dschinga from the anti-capitalist climate meeting. “Many of us don’t know how to get the money by the end of the month.”
SWM, on the other hand, maintain that a comparison with other district heating companies “is hardly meaningful at an isolated point in time”. Every company has its own acceptance and production structures. It is to be expected that district heating will become more expensive everywhere.
The climate activists go beyond their specific SWM criticism. Anna Mayer demands: “It is time that the energy systems are no longer subject to capitalist logic, but that we create a system in which we decide together according to our needs what is produced and how. This is the only way we can stop the climate crisis and sure that our apartments stay warm even in winter.”