“The Energy Transition Is Not Failing Because of a Lack of Will – But Because of the Grid”
Interview with Thomas Bechtold, CEO of Energieversorgung Klettgau-Rheintal GmbH
The energy transition is often discussed in broad political narratives. Thomas Bechtold sees it differently. More practically. More regionally. For the CEO of Energieversorgung Klettgau-Rheintal GmbH, the future of energy is not decided on political stages, but in the power grids beneath the streets of the Klettgau region. A conversation about realism, security of supply and why the energy sector above all needs one thing today: reliability.
European Business: Mr. Bechtold, your background is not the traditional route into the energy sector. How did your journey lead you to Energieversorgung Klettgau-Rheintal GmbH?
Thomas Bechtold: I studied law, but I never actually worked as a lawyer. My professional path quickly led me into marketing and sales – first with Debitel, later with Samsung Electronics and afterwards into consulting. I entered the energy industry in 2012 at badenova. After that, I spent seven years with one of Switzerland’s major energy suppliers. Since October, I have been CEO of EVKR. It was a very conscious decision for me. I wanted to return to a more regional environment. I’m someone who truly believes in “from the region, for the region.”
European Business: What makes EVKR special?
Thomas Bechtold: Our setup is actually quite unique in Germany. Our customers are located on German territory, but our entire grid infrastructure is connected exclusively to the Swiss electricity network. That means 100% of our energy supply comes from Switzerland. It creates an interesting framework – economically not always an advantage, to be honest. Nevertheless, our ambition remains very clear: fair, transparent and competitive pricing.
European Business: EVKR was created through the merger of several municipal utilities. What was the idea behind it?
Thomas Bechtold: Like many municipal suppliers, our founding municipalities wanted to create synergies and pool resources. EVKR was established 15 years ago. Four municipalities joined forces to strengthen security of supply, improve economic stability and develop infrastructure more efficiently together. In a liberalized energy market, scale matters.
European Business: What are the biggest challenges for your company today?
Thomas Bechtold: Without question, grid expansion. The energy transition has fundamentally changed the requirements placed on energy infrastructure. In the past, the focus was mainly on electricity consumption. Today we are simultaneously dealing with photovoltaic systems, heat pumps, electric mobility and battery storage solutions. As a result, our grids are facing demands that simply did not exist ten or 15 years ago. That is currently the real bottleneck.
European Business: Many people talk about renewable energy. You talk a lot about infrastructure.
Thomas Bechtold: Because that’s where the real challenge lies. Photovoltaics themselves are not the issue. The question is: how do we intelligently balance generation and consumption? If someone combines rooftop solar, a wallbox, a heat pump and a battery storage system, the load profile changes completely. Our grids must be capable of handling that. The energy transition is not failing because of a lack of willingness – but often because of the grid itself.
European Business: How do you view the political framework conditions?
Thomas Bechtold: They are difficult to plan around. Large-scale investments require reliability and consistency. When political priorities constantly change, things become complicated – especially for municipal companies like ours. We are talking about major investments here. Naturally, financing partners and banks want to know what long-term direction they are committing to.
European Business: Despite a liberalized market, customer loyalty in your region appears to be remarkably high.
Thomas Bechtold: Fortunately, yes. More than 80% of our customers stay with us. That has a lot to do with regional identity. People know us. They know we are here locally, taking responsibility, rather than operating as some anonymous supplier from far away.
European Business: What are your personal goals as the new CEO?
Thomas Bechtold: We want to become even more visible as a reliable and competent partner for all energy-related issues. People are looking for orientation – whether it’s heating systems, electricity tariffs or broader questions surrounding the energy transition. We want to bring that expertise more actively into the region. Our goal is not to be the loudest player in the market. Our goal is to be dependable. In the end, that is what truly matters in our industry.