Stadtwerke Bielefeld Launches Cost-Cutting Program and Increases Profits

June 23, 2026

Source: E & M powernews

Stadtwerke Bielefeld posted a profit of just over 34 million euros in 2025. Through the expansion of its district heating network, the company achieved its highest connection rate in the last ten years.

Stadtwerke Bielefeld posted an annual profit of 34.4 million euros in fiscal year 2025, surpassing the previous year’s figure of 27.5 million euros. Significant contributions to the profit came from the core energy business as well as from a one-time gain resulting from the sale of its shares in Stadtwerke Gütersloh, the company announced. The City of Bielefeld received concession fees totaling approximately 21 million euros.

With regard to operating performance, management reports a stable trend. Electricity sales fell by 4.1 percent last year to approximately 1.39 billion kWh. Stadtwerke attributes this to changes in consumer behavior and economic trends in the commercial sector. Gas sales declined by 0.9 percent to just under 2.45 billion kWh. In the district heating sector, sales stood at 496 million kWh, below the previous year’s level.

According to its own figures, the Stadtwerke Bielefeld Group invested more than 190 million euros in the maintenance and expansion of its infrastructure in 2025. Of this amount, 68 million euros were allocated to the grid infrastructure. The focus was on measures related to the electricity grid, the digitization of the grids, and preparations for the transformation of the gas grid.

According to the company, 91 buildings were newly connected to the district heating network in 2025. In the Dürerstraße model neighborhood, district heating is expected to cover approximately 80 percent of the heating demand in the future. According to Stadtwerke, this represents the highest number of new connections in the past ten years.

“Turning Aspirations into Reality”

The waste management company Interargem pushed forward with the construction of a sewage sludge mono-incineration plant. The plant is scheduled to go into operation in mid-2027 and will enable district heating for up to 4,400 additional households in the future.

In 2025, the Schiefe Breede solar park—the city utilities’ first ground-mounted photovoltaic plant—began operations. The plant has a capacity of 4.2 MW and generates approximately 4.3 million kWh of electricity annually.

For the group as a whole, the 2025 financial statements show revenue of 909 million euros (2024: 892 million euros) and capital expenditures of 195 million euros (2024: 155 million euros). The number of employees rose by 80 to 2,994.

Against the backdrop of rising costs, regulatory changes, and high investment needs, the company says it has initiated measures to strengthen its internal financing capacity. These reportedly include tighter economic management of projects as well as additional cost-cutting measures.

“We remain committed to our principle of translating what is desirable into what is feasible: economically viable, technically realistic, and affordable for the people in our city,” Managing Director Martin Uekmann is quoted as saying in a statement. Protecting the climate remains a key guiding principle for the company’s actions. He added: “In the future, however, implementation will be even more closely aligned with the order and pace at which measures can be carried out in a legally compliant and financially viable manner.”

Business Development at Stadtwerke Bielefeld (GmbH only)

Source: Stadtwerke Bielefeld

Author: Manfred Fischer