General Terms and Conditions of Stadtwerke Stuttgart Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH (SWSV)

1. Scope of application, conclusion of the supply contract, start of supply
These General Terms and Conditions apply to supply contracts for the supply of electricity and/or gas to end consumers for their own purposes and with an annual consumption of up to 100,000 kWh per delivery point.
A supply contract between the customer and SWSV is concluded when the customer submits the order for the supply of electricity and/or gas in text form, providing all essential data, and the customer receives confirmation from SWSV in text form. When concluding a contract via the SWSV website (www.stadtwerke-stuttgart.de), the contract is concluded as follows:

The presentation and advertising of SWSV's services on the SWSV website (www.stadtwerke-stuttgart.de) do not constitute a binding offer to conclude a contract, but are merely an invitation to the customer to submit an offer to SWSV (so-called invitatio ad offerendum).

The customer can submit a binding offer to conclude an electricity supply contract on the SWSV website (www.stadtwerke-stuttgart.de) by clicking on the button labelled ‘Conclude contract with payment obligation’ and submitting all essential data. Until the offer is submitted, the customer can check their details in the online form at any time and correct them using the back buttons if necessary.

SWSV confirms receipt of the offer electronically and accepts the customer's offer (‘confirmation of receipt and contract’). The supply contract is concluded upon receipt of the confirmation of receipt and contract. SWSV reserves the right to check the customer's creditworthiness before confirming the contract.

SWSV shall inform the customer of the expected start date of delivery. The start of delivery is subject to SWSV receiving confirmation from the distribution network operator and, in the event of a change of supplier, confirmation of termination from the previous supplier. Both confirmations shall be obtained by SWSV.
The supply contract is subject to the condition that the local distribution network operator uses a so-called standard load profile for the supply, with the exception of temperature-dependent load profiles.

2. Cancellation policy
Right of cancellation: You have the right to cancel this contract within fourteen days without giving any reason. The withdrawal period is fourteen days from the date of conclusion of the contract. To exercise your right of withdrawal, you must inform us (Stadtwerke Stuttgart Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH, Kesselstraße 21-23, 70327 Stuttgart, telephone 0711 8912-3333, fax 0711 8912-3030, email [email protected]) of your decision to withdraw from this contract by means of a clear statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or email). You can use the sample withdrawal form available for download here, but this is not mandatory. To meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your notification of exercising your right of cancellation before the cancellation period expires.
Consequences of withdrawal: If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse you for all payments we have received from you, including delivery costs (with the exception of additional costs resulting from your choice of a type of delivery other than the standard delivery offered by us), without delay and at the latest within fourteen days of the day on which we receive notification of your withdrawal from this contract. We will use the same means of payment for this refund as you used for the original transaction, unless expressly agreed otherwise with you; in no event will you be charged for this refund. If you have requested that the supply of electricity should commence during the withdrawal period, you shall pay us a reasonable amount corresponding to the proportion of the services already provided up to the time you notify us of the exercise of the right of withdrawal in respect of this contract in comparison to the total scope of the services provided for in the contract.

3. Subject matter of the supply contract
On the basis of this supply contract, SWSV shall supply the customer with low-voltage electricity and/or low-pressure gas at the agreed delivery address. This supply contract does not cover grid connection and connection usage. The respective distribution network operator is responsible for this. This supply contract also does not cover metering point operation. The respective distribution network operator in its function as the metering point operator with primary responsibility or a third party commissioned by the customer is responsible for this. If the customer commissions a metering point operator themselves, they shall notify SWSV of this.

4.  Term of the supply contract, termination options, change of supplier
If the customer has concluded a supply contract with a basic term, the supply contract shall run for 12 months from the conclusion of the contract (‘initial term’). Thereafter, the supply contract shall be extended for an indefinite period and may be terminated at the end of the initial term with one month's notice. If the customer has concluded a supply contract without a basic term, the supply contract may be terminated with one month's notice. Special termination rights and the statutory right of the customer and SWSV to terminate the contract without notice for good cause shall remain unaffected. SWSV is entitled to terminate for good cause if the customer is in arrears with an invoice amount of at least two instalments and termination without notice was threatened two weeks in advance. This does not apply if the consequences of termination without notice are disproportionate to the severity of the breach or if the customer demonstrates that there is a reasonable prospect that they will fulfil their obligations in future.
Any termination must be made in writing. SWSV shall confirm the customer's termination based on contractual or statutory termination rights in writing without delay, at the latest within one week of receipt, stating the end of the contract. SWSV shall cooperate in a free and prompt change of supplier.

5. Delivery price, price adjustments, future taxes/levies

5.1 The delivery price is a final price (gross, including value added tax). In addition to the costs of procurement and distribution, the net price includes the taxes, levies and surcharges applicable to the delivery. In the case of electricity supply, this applies to the levies pursuant to Sections 2 No. 17, 12 of the Energy Financing Act (EnFG) (KWKG levy and offshore grid levy), the levy pursuant to Section 19 of the Electricity Grid Fee Ordinance (StromNEV levy) and the electricity tax. In the case of gas supply, this applies to the energy tax and the costs for the purchase of emission certificates in accordance with the Fuel Emissions Trading Act (BEHG costs).  The supply price also includes grid usage fees, fees charged for metering point operation (insofar as metering point operation is carried out by the metering point operator responsible for the area) and concession fees. In addition, value added tax at the applicable statutory rate is added to the net price. Current information on the applicable delivery price is available on the SWSV website (www.stadtwerke-stuttgart.de) and by calling 0711/8912-3333.

5.2. SWSV shall adjust the net prices to be paid at its reasonable discretion in line with the development of the costs relevant for the price calculation. A price increase may be considered and a price reduction shall be made if the costs for the procurement or distribution of energy, levies, charges, taxes or the costs of using the distribution network or metering point operation increase or decrease, or other changes in the energy industry or legal framework lead to a change in the cost situation, whereby increases and reductions in individual items are always offset against each other. SWSV shall determine the amount and timing of price changes in such a way that cost reductions are taken into account according to the same objective and temporal criteria as cost increases. Price changes shall only take effect at the beginning of a calendar month, but at the earliest after the expiry of any price guarantee that may have been granted. Price increases shall be communicated to the customer in writing at least one month before the intended change takes effect; the notification shall specify the scope, reason and conditions of the change. The customer is entitled to terminate the contract free of charge without observing a notice period at the time the changes take effect. SWSV shall specifically inform the customer of this in the notification.

5.3 Notwithstanding clause 5.2, changes in value added tax resulting from a statutory change in value added tax rates in accordance with the Value Added Tax Act shall be passed on to the customer one-to-one without notice and without the customer being able to terminate the supply contract without notice. The same applies to electricity supplies in the event of a reduction in the balance from the KWKG levy, the offshore levy and the StromNEV levy, and to gas supplies in the event of a reduction in BEHG costs.

6. Moving house, moving out:
When moving within Baden-Württemberg, the supply contract generally continues under the previous contractual terms and conditions. The customer shall notify SWSV of their new delivery address or market location ID at least two weeks before moving. Alternatively, the customer may terminate the supply contract with two weeks' notice to the move-out date or a later date. In the event of late notification by the customer, SWSV shall endeavour to clarify the matter in accordance with the applicable energy industry processes.

7. Advance payments, billing, metering:

7.1. SWSV shall set monthly advance payments, which shall be due at the earliest from the start of delivery. The advance payments shall be based on the consumption of the previous billing period or the average consumption of comparable customers. If the customer can demonstrate that their consumption is significantly lower, SWSV shall take this into account appropriately.

7.2. SWSV offers the customer the option of paying by issuing a SEPA mandate or by bank transfer. SWSV debits the instalments on the 15th of each month for the current month if a SEPA mandate has been issued. If the 15th of the month falls on a weekend or public holiday, SWSV will debit the account on the following working day. If the customer does not issue SWSV with a SEPA mandate, or if the customer revokes a SEPA mandate that has already been issued, the customer undertakes to transfer the instalments for the current month by the 15th of the month. The contracting parties agree that any advance notification (pre-notification) required for the SEPA direct debit procedure must be given at least six days before the respective debit date. The account holder undertakes to ensure that the account is covered. Costs incurred due to non-payment or reversal of the direct debit shall be borne by the account holder, provided that the non-payment or reversal was not caused by SWSV.

7.3. Taking into account the advance payments made, SWSV shall issue an invoice for the electricity/gas consumed annually and at the end of the contractual relationship and shall provide this to the customer in paper form. At the customer's request, SWSV also offers monthly, quarterly or half-yearly invoices. SWSV charges a fee based on actual costs for the monthly, quarterly or half-yearly transmission of the invoice in paper form. If the consumption data is transmitted remotely, SWSV provides billing information on a monthly basis, otherwise on a half-yearly basis. In the case of monthly transmission, this can be done via the Internet or other suitable electronic media. The customer may request that this be provided every three months. Upon request, SWSV will provide supplementary information on consumption history in accordance with Section 40b (5) EnWG, insofar as this is available. SWSV will transfer any credit balance from an invoice to the customer within two weeks, unless it is offset against the next instalment payment. SWSV will debit any additional claims from the invoice on the due date, but no earlier than two weeks after receipt of the invoice, if a SEPA mandate has been issued; otherwise, the customer must transfer the amount to SWSV on the date specified on the invoice, but no earlier than two weeks after receipt of the invoice. Upon termination of the supply relationship, the final invoice shall be issued after 6 weeks at the latest, or after 3 weeks at the latest in the case of monthly billing.

7.4. Consumption is usually recorded by the respective metering point operator and communicated to SWSV. If the metering device is not equipped for remote communication, the customer may be required to read the meter themselves in individual cases. The customer may object to self-reading in individual cases if it is unreasonable for them to do so. In the event of a justified objection, SWSV shall take its own reading of the metering device and shall not charge a separate fee for this. If, despite being obliged to do so, the customer has not provided SWSV with any meter reading data for a specific billing period, or if SWSV is unable to determine the actual consumption for other reasons for which SWSV is not responsible, the billing and billing information may be based on an estimate of consumption, which must be made with due consideration of the actual circumstances.

8. Network operation disruptions, liability and compensation provisions:

8.1. If the electricity and/or gas supply is interrupted due to disruptions in network operation, including the network connection, SWSV shall be released from its obligation to supply electricity and/or gas. The distribution network operator whose network connection the customer uses to draw electricity and/or gas shall be responsible for any claims by the customer due to disruptions in network operation. Upon request, SWSV shall immediately provide the customer with information about the facts relating to the damage caused by the network operator, insofar as these are known to SWSV or can be reasonably ascertained by SWSV. In all other respects, the statutory liability and compensation provisions shall apply.

8.2. SWSV's liability for culpably caused damage is excluded, unless the damage was caused by intent or gross negligence. This does not apply to damage resulting from injury to life, limb or health, or from the culpable breach of essential contractual obligations, i.e. obligations whose fulfilment is essential for the proper execution of the contract and on whose compliance the customer may regularly rely (so-called cardinal obligations).

8.3. In the event of a breach of essential contractual obligations that is not based on intent or gross negligence, liability for property damage and financial loss shall be limited to the damage that SWSV foresaw as a possible consequence of the breach of contract when the contract was concluded or could have foreseen taking into account the circumstances that it knew or should have known.

9. Dispute resolution procedure for consumers:
SWSV shall respond to complaints from customers who are consumers within the meaning of Section 13 of the German Civil Code (consumer complaints) within the statutory period of four weeks from receipt by SWSV. If SWSV does not remedy the consumer complaint within this period, the consumer may refer the matter to the Energy Arbitration Board (Schlichtungsstelle Energie e. V., Friedrichstraße 133, 10117 Berlin, tel.: 030 2757240-0, www.schlichtungsstelle-energie.de, email: [email protected]). In all cases, the legal requirement for initiating proceedings before the arbitration board is that the customer has previously contacted SWSV with their concern. If the customer applies for arbitration in a permissible manner, the SWSV is obliged to participate in the arbitration proceedings in accordance with Section 111 b (1) sentence 2 EnWG. The rights of the SWSV and the consumer to take legal action and apply for other proceedings under the Energy Industry Act remain unaffected. In addition, the Federal Network Agency maintains a consumer service for electricity and gas (Federal Network Agency, Consumer Service Energy, PO Box 8001, 53105 Bonn, tel.: 030 /22480-500, www.bundesnetzagentur.de, email: [email protected]).

10. Information in accordance with the Act on Energy Services and Other Energy Efficiency Measures:
The Federal Agency for Energy Efficiency (BfEE) maintains a public list of providers of energy services, energy audits and other energy efficiency measures operating throughout Germany. The list and further information on these topics are available on the BfEE website (www.bfee-online.de).

11. Amendments to these General Terms and Conditions
SWSV is entitled to amend these General Terms and Conditions. The General Terms and Conditions shall only be amended if this is necessary to restore the equivalence of the contractual services (equivalence interest) due to a significant disruption or to close any regulatory gaps that have arisen and cause significant difficulties in the performance of the contract, and if the law does not provide for any regulation. SWSV will only make changes to the GTC if this is reasonable for the customer. The customer must not be placed in a worse position overall as a result of the change. Within this framework, SWSV is not entitled to change essential contractual provisions, such as the contract term and termination rights. SWSV shall notify the customer of the amendment to the General Terms and Conditions in writing at least one month before it is due to take effect. In this case, the customer is entitled to terminate the contract free of charge and without observing a notice period at the time the amendments take effect. SWSV shall inform the customer of this separately in the notification.
 

12. Energy tax notice
In accordance with Section 107 of the Energy Tax Implementation Ordinance, the following applies to the purchase of natural gas: "Tax-privileged energy product! May not be used as fuel unless such use is permitted under the Energy Tax Act or the Energy Tax Implementation Ordinance. Any use other than as fuel will result in tax and criminal penalties. In case of doubt, please contact your local customs office."

13. Data protection:
The legal basis for the processing of data in the context of requesting/ordering electricity or gas supplies is Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR. We require your personal data in the marked mandatory fields for contract processing. Further information on data protection at Stadtwerke Stuttgart can be found on our homepage in the data protection section.

As of: 13 November 2025