What Stadtwerke Herford does

Stadtwerke Herford GmbH is a municipal utility company headquartered at Werrestraße 103, 32049 Herford, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, that supplies essential energy and water services to residential and commercial customers across the city of Herford and three neighboring municipalities (Enger, Hiddenhausen, and Spenge). Founded in 1850 and wholly owned by the City of Herford, the company operates a vertically integrated portfolio covering electricity (including green/eco tariff options), natural gas (across standard, smart-metered, and spot-price variants), drinking water, and district heating, alongside newer offerings such as residential photovoltaic solutions (stromdach+), EV charging (Mobilstrom), and bundled leisure subscriptions (Freizeit-Flat). The managing director is Oliver Daun, and headcount is reported in the 51–100 range.

The underlying technology and infrastructure consists of owned and operated electricity and gas distribution networks, water treatment and storage facilities (including a recently commissioned drinking water reservoir), combined heat and power (KWK) plants, and a growing fleet of public EV charging stations. The 'RUND' consumer-facing brand architecture — RUNDerdgas, RUNDstrom öko, RUNDwärme — unifies the retail energy portfolio, with smart metering (RUNDerdgas smart) providing the consumption data flows needed to enable dynamic and spot-priced retail products.

Stadtwerke Herford generates revenue through regulated and unregulated tariffs on network usage, commodity sales of electricity, gas, water, and heat to end customers, one-off installation and connection fees, and subscription-based leisure services. As a municipal-owned entity, its commercial model blends regulated rate-of-return network operations with retail energy supply and an increasingly active role in distributed energy infrastructure services (rooftop PV, e-mobility), aligning the go-to-market with both the German Energiewende (energy transition) and local economic development objectives.

Name

Stadtwerke Herford

Legal name

Stadtwerke Herford GmbH

Website

https://stadtwerke-herford.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1850

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Stadtwerke Herford is a German municipal utility supplying electricity, natural gas, water, district heating, EV charging, photovoltaic solutions, and leisure subscriptions to residential and commercial customers across Herford and three neighboring municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Herford

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Electricity Supply (Strom): Supply of green electricity (Ökostrom) to residential and commercial customers under branded tariff products including RUNDstrom öko, RUNDstrom öko Wärmepumpe, and others. Revenue is generated through monthly base charges (Grundpreis) and per-kilowatt-hour consumption charges (Arbeitspreis). Tariffs include price guarantees for specified contract periods.
2. Natural Gas Supply (Erdgas): Supply of natural gas under fixed-price and spot-market tariff products (RUNDerdgas pur, RUNDerdgas smart, RUNDerdgas spot). Revenue comprises monthly base charges and consumption-based energy charges. Some tariffs offer introductory discounts and loyalty bonuses.
3. District Heating (Nahwärme): Supply of district heating (Nahwärme) to property owners and district heating users for building heating purposes. Includes service offerings for tenants and property owners.
4. Water Supply (Wasser): Drinking water supply and distribution to customers, including water analysis services and additional water-related services.
5. House Connections (Hausanschlüsse): Installation and connection services for electricity, gas, and water house connections, including applications for new connections and modifications.
6. Electromobility (Elektromobilität): Operation of electric vehicle charging stations in the service area, providing charging infrastructure to EV drivers.
7. Freizeit-Flat Leisure Subscriptions: Bundled leisure packages (Freizeit-Flat) combining energy contracts with discounted access to local leisure facilities including H2O Herford, outdoor pools, ice rink, and spa facilities. Sold as add-on subscriptions to existing energy customers, increasing average revenue per customer.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Stadtwerke Herford is a municipal utility company that supplies residential and commercial customers with electricity, natural gas, water, and district heating. It also offers grid connection services, EV charging infrastructure, rooftop solar leasing, and operates an H2O leisure facility (swimming and ice arena). The company combines energy and water supply with mobility and leisure services as a one-stop municipal provider in the Herford region.

Product overview

Stadtwerke Herford operates as a regional utility company providing essential energy and water services to households and businesses in Herford, Enger, Hiddenhausen, and Spenge. The core product portfolio centers on natural gas (RUNDerdgas product line with three variants: pur, smart, and spot offering different pricing models from fixed to exchange-oriented), eco electricity (RUNDstrom öko with household, heat pump, and electric mobility variants), and solar power solutions (stromdach+). Additional services include district heating (RUNDwärme), drinking water supply, house connections, electric vehicle charging stations, and a leisure card program (Freizeit-Abo) combining energy contracts with swimming and ice skating access. The company also operates digital customer services including a customer portal, online appointment booking, and various community engagement programs. The offerings are designed for residential (Privatkunde) and commercial (Gewerbekunde) customers, with supplementary programs like sponsorship initiatives (ENERGIEQUELL) and educational offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RUNDstrom öko: Eco electricity product for households, heat pumps, and heating applications.
• RUNDerdgas pur / smart / spot
• RUNDwärme pro
• stromdach+
• Mobilstrom öko
• Freizeit-Abo / Familienkarte / Einzelkarte
• ENERGIEQUELL
• H2O Herford

Products and services

• RUNDerdgas smart A natural gas supply tariff designed for Stadtwerke Herford customers seeking a straightforward, predictable gas contract.
• RUNDerdgas pur A natural gas supply tariff offering pure gas supply for price-focused customers in the Herford service area.
• RUNDerdgas spot A natural gas tariff linked to spot-market pricing, allowing customers to benefit from short-term market price movements.
• RUNDstrom öko A renewable / eco electricity tariff supplied by Stadtwerke Herford to environmentally conscious residential and commercial customers.
• RUNDstrom öko mit Preisgarantie A renewable electricity tariff with a price guarantee, providing cost predictability for customers over the guarantee period.
• RUNDstrom öko Wärmepumpe A specialized renewable electricity tariff designed for households operating heat pumps, supporting efficient electric heating.
• Mobilstrom öko A mobile / on-the-go eco electricity tariff offered by Stadtwerke Herford for flexible use, such as EV charging.
• stromdach+ A rooftop solar leasing and installation service offered by Stadtwerke Herford, enabling customers to install photovoltaic systems without upfront capital expenditure.
• RUNDwärme pro A district heating supply contract (Nahwärme) for residential and commercial customers connected to Stadtwerke Herford's heating network.
• Nahwärmeservice (Mieter) A district heating service aimed at tenants in multi-family buildings served by the Stadtwerke Herford heating network.
• Wasser (Trinkwasserversorgung) Drinking water supply service delivered by Stadtwerke Herford to households and businesses in the Herford service area.
• Hausanschlüsse Grid connection services (Hausanschlüsse) for electricity, gas, water, and district heating, providing building connections to Stadtwerke Herford's networks.
• Ladestationen (E-Mobilität) Public electric vehicle charging stations operated by Stadtwerke Herford, supplying EV drivers in the Herford area.
• Familienkarte Schwimmen & Eislaufen A family subscription card granting access to swimming and ice-skating facilities at the H2O arena in Herford.
• Einzelkarte Schwimmen A single-entry ticket for swimming at the H2O arena operated by Stadtwerke Herford.
• Kundenportal & App An online customer portal and mobile application enabling Stadtwerke Herford customers to manage their accounts, view bills, submit service requests, and access digital services.

Quantifiable outcome

• Lower heating costs: Reducing room temperature by 1°C reduces heating costs by approximately 6%
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration17 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Westfalen Weser Netz GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationWestfalen Weser Netz GmbH is the operator of the electricity distribution network in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe and Südniedersachsen regions. Stadtwerke Herford directs customers with electricity supply problems to Westfalen Weser Netz for fault resolution and street lighting issues, indicating a cooperative network operator relationship.
• HEA – Fachgemeinschaft für effiziente Energieanwendung e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHEA is the market partner association of the German energy industry. Stadtwerke Herford links to HEA's online calculator for customers to compare their electricity consumption against other households ('Stromspiegel für Deutschland'), indicating a content and tool partnership.
• Deutsche Umwelt Aktion e.V.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for environmental education for schools and kindergartens. Stadtwerke Herford facilitates registrations for the environmental education program of Deutsche Umwelt Aktion e.V. for Grundschule (primary school) students.
• Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (Facebook, Instagram)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerMeta's Facebook and Instagram platforms are used as social media channels for customer communication, news, and social media sweepstakes. Stadtwerke Herford operates a Facebook fan page and Instagram account with page insights.
• HSV Borussia Friedenstal e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPremium sponsorship partner of Stadtwerke Herford. The company sponsors the football club and provides VIP tickets to home games as part of its customer loyalty program.
• Herforder Eishockey Verein e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPremium sponsorship partner of Stadtwerke Herford. The company sponsors the ice hockey club and provides VIP tickets to home games as part of its customer loyalty program.
• H2O Herford FreizeitbadcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerH2O Herford is the primary leisure facility partner in the Freizeit-Flat bundled subscription program. Energy customers receive discounted access to the leisure pool as part of their energy contract.
• Eishalle 'Im Kleinen Felde' HerfordcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIce rink partner in the Familienkarte Freizeit-Flat program, providing combined swimming and ice skating access to energy customers.
• Herforder Freibäder (Herford Outdoor Pools)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHerford outdoor swimming facilities in Herford, Elverdissen, Hiddenhausen, and Spenge are included in the Freizeit-Flat leisure card program.
• Tierpark HerfordminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTierpark Herford (Herford Zoo) partners with Stadtwerke Herford for customer sweepstakes and loyalty programs, offering family day tickets as prizes.

Scale indicators3 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Stadtwerke Bielefeld GmbH: Largest municipal multi-utility in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe region, directly adjacent to Stadtwerke Herford's service area. Offers the same electricity, gas, water, and district-heating bundle with comparable Freizeit/leisure add-ons, making it the closest behavioral and product analog for a Herford-scale utility.
• Stadtwerke Paderborn GmbH: Slightly larger Ostwestfalen municipal utility with similar multi-utility portfolio and customer segments. Provides an instructive benchmark on district-heating scale and digital product extensions relevant to Herford.
• Stadtwerke Gütersloh GmbH: Regional Ostwestfalen municipal utility of similar scale, serving households and businesses with electricity, gas, water, and heat. Comparable municipal-ownership governance and product portfolio, ideal for head-to-head on pricing and retention.
• Stadtwerke Detmold GmbH: Neighbouring Ostwestfalen-Lippe municipal utility of similar customer scale, supplying electricity, gas, water and heat to private and commercial customers. Comparable GTM mix of sales-led tariffs, digital portal, and local sponsorship programs.
• Stadtwerke Minden GmbH: Municipal utility operating in the same Herford-region ecological and regulatory environment (NRW, Westfalen Weser Netz area). Provides the same multi-utility bundle with comparable pricing structures and bundled lifestyle offerings.

Regional players

• Gelsenwasser AG: Large German water-supply specialist with municipal minority ownership across many Städte; represents a potential strategic alliance or franchise partner for scaling Stadtwerke Herford's water utility operations beyond the existing territory.
• Westfalen Weser GmbH: Regional energy company and operator of the electricity distribution network in the same Ostwestfalen-Lippe and Südniedersachsen territories in which Stadtwerke Herford operates. While it sells energy and infrastructure services, it is more vertically integrated (network + energy) and acts as both a partner and an indirect competitor.

Broad incumbents

• E.ON SE: One of Europe's largest energy suppliers with deep footprint across NRW; competes for the same residential and commercial customers in Herford with broader products (electricity, gas, heat, e-mobility, home services) but without Herford-specific community programs.
• RWE AG: Major German incumbent with generation-led presence in NRW and growing retail and customer-solutions arm; competes for Stadtwerke Herford's customers via RWE subsidiary Westnetz and national supply offers.

Emerging players

• Lichtblick SE: Pure-play green electricity and gas supplier targeting environmentally conscious German households. Competes with Stadtwerke Herford's RUNDstrom öko Ökostrom product, especially on digital onboarding and eco-credibility for younger demographics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/StadtwerkeHerford
• Xx.com/swherford

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stadtwerke Herford