Prokon and Tante Enso launch a cooperative partnership
Wind power for the stores, preferential electricity for members and customers: Prokon Regenerative Energien eG and myEnso Teilhaber eG are joining forces. In future, Prokon will supply the Tante Enso stores and central operating sites with wind power. At the same time, members and customers will gain access to an attractive green electricity offer.
With this new cooperation, two cooperatives are combining their respective strengths: Prokon stands for community energy and the expansion of renewable energies, while Tante Enso stands for community-based local supply in rural areas. Both are guided by the same basic principle: people take responsibility together and shape important areas of their daily lives for themselves.
Wind power for Tante Enso stores
Prokon will in future supply Tante Enso supermarkets, as well as central and warehouse sites, with wind power. This gives Tante Enso a bundled energy solution with a partner that shares its own cooperative values.
For Prokon, the collaboration is also an important step in the large-customer segment. In addition, the idea of citizen energy reaches a large and committed community that already relies on co-determination and shared supply.
“This collaboration shows how well co-operatives go together – even across sector boundaries,” says Henning von Stechow, Chair of the Board of Prokon Regenerative Energien eG. “We share the conviction that people can achieve more when they join forces. That is exactly what Prokon is about: shaping the energy transition together.”
Co-operatives strengthen supply in citizens’ hands
Tante Enso also relies on local participation. The small 24/7 supermarkets are being set up mainly in rural areas where traditional local provision is often lacking. People in the local area can become members of the co-operative and actively help shape their store.
“Our two cooperatives pursue a similar goal: strengthening supply in citizens’ hands, enabling participation and securing regional structures. Sustainability and climate protection also play an important role here – both in the electricity supply and in the supermarket.”
Norbert Hegmann, Vorstand und Mitbegründer der myEnso Teilhaber eG
Part of the collaboration is therefore also a reciprocal stake: Prokon and myEnso Teilhaber eG will each become a member of the other co-operative. In doing so, both partners underline their intention to work together for the long term and to create more than a conventional electricity supply contract.
Community energy and local supply thought of together
The cooperation shows how cooperative models can work together across industry boundaries. From local shopping to the supply of renewable energy, solutions are emerging that are collectively supported and geared towards the long term.
In this way, Prokon and Tante Enso bring together two central areas of everyday life — local supply and energy — and thereby strengthen the idea of supply in the hands of citizens.