Belectric’s O&M customers have been told not to expect a change in services following the completion of the acquisition by innogy SE. Image: Belectric.
innogy SE, the renewable energy subsidiary of German utility RWE acquiring Belectric, has said customers should not expect to see any disruption or change in the service they receive from the company once the deal is completed.
The acquisition was announced on Monday 29 August and will see innogy take on Belectric’s entire solar and battery business, with all related companies to be brought under Belectric Solar and Battery Holding in order to structure the deal.
innogy will also take over the company’s O&M activities, which currently cover just over 1GW of installed solar capacity, with 155MW in the UK.
A spokesperson for the utility was unable to provide specific detail on how the deal will affect single markets like the UK, but claimed there would not be “many major changes”.
“The important message to the customers, because [O&M] is an important business area, is that thanks to the acquisition by a strong stable company, for the customer nothing will change. They will get the same quality of service, Belectric is still their business partner it’s just that it has different shareholders,” she said.
However, she added that how the business will be integrated into innogy’s existing structure “remains to be seen”.
Belectric UK declined to comment on the deal and its impact on its operations however, Bernhard Beck, executive chairman of Belectric Holding, stated that both customers and the company’s workforce would benefit from the deal.
“With innogy, an established European energy company is acquiring our trail-blazing business for solar energy and battery solutions. Thereby, the focus is further on sustainable business development for the benefit of our customers and employees,” he said.
The UK arm will require stability once the deal has been completed following the success of its enhanced frequency response tender announced on Friday 26 August. It is expected to provide 10MW of enhanced response from October 2017, with innogy expected to complete the deal earlier in the year.