As a purchasing central, VEB's core mission remains unchanged: to maximize the advantages of dynamic energy markets for lower energy costs for affiliated clients. This requires continuous investment in market knowledge, purchasing expertise, and legally sound procurement models to ensure competitive pricing.
Organizing public procurement in the energy sector is a complex, multidisciplinary task demanding energy, purchasing, and legal expertise. VEB assumes procurement responsibility, exempting affiliated clients from these obligations. This often lengthy process must be reconciled with the speed of energy markets, where transactions are traditionally settled through direct negotiations.
To develop efficient purchasing models, VEB invests continuously in market knowledge and dialogue. By understanding price drivers, market participant risks, contract types, and emerging players, and through market consultations and engagement with regulators and market parties, VEB stays informed. This allows them to adapt purchasing strategies to rapidly evolving energy markets and enhance competition.
A crucial aspect of VEB's strategy is ensuring ongoing competition, even after a contract is concluded. Unlike traditional tenders where often only one supplier remains, VEB brings multiple pre-contracted market parties into competition simultaneously for 'click requests'. This results in market-conform prices and a legally robust solution that maintains competition.
VEB has built extensive expertise in the purchase, trading, and invoicing of various energy components since its inception in 2012. This includes green electricity certificates, combined heat and power certificates, guarantees of origin, and forward energy products within click contracts. This experience provides a solid foundation for handling new market mechanisms cost-effectively and legally correctly.
Starting in 2028, the second European Emissions Trading System, ETS2, will come into effect. This expands the carbon market to sectors like building heating and road transport. Suppliers of fossil fuels will need to purchase emission allowances, the costs of which will be passed on to the end-user. Organizations using natural gas, heating oil, or propane for heating, or fossil fuels for mobility, will feel the impact directly.
ETS2 emission allowances are tradable products that can be acquired through primary EU auctions or on a secondary market. Although ETS2 is new for many organizations, it aligns with markets where VEB has long been active. By mapping out market mechanisms, trading channels, and legal conditions now, VEB is developing a purchasing model that provides access to ETS2 allowances at market-competitive terms, in full compliance with legislation.
VEB's operational approach remains consistent: maximizing the benefits of a dynamic energy market to achieve lower costs for affiliated clients. From the introduction of ETS2, this expertise will also be reflected in the emissions allowance component of natural gas bills.
