Grid Segment

General legal and regulatory conditions

On 1 January 2019, the 4th new regulatory period began for the electricity sector. The year 2018 was marked by the cost determination procedure, in which costs were examined and the efficiency of the electricity grid operators was compared on the one hand, while the general conditions for the new regulatory period were determined on the other. Netz Oberösterreich GmbH (Netz OÖ) was able to demonstrate a high level of efficiency in an Austria-wide comparison of electricity grid operators. The general cost reduction for all electricity network operators was set at 0.95%, and was thus higher than that for the natural gas sector.

The grid utilisation fees for end-consumers in the electricity sector were reduced as of 1 January 2019, between -2.8% at grid level 3 and -6.7% at grid level 7. The grid utilisation fees for end-consumers in the natural gas division in Upper Austria were also significantly reduced: the reduction between -13.1% at grid level 3 and -17.3% at grid level 2 is founded on the reduction of the very high upstream grid costs and compensation payments in the current tariff base in the previous year.

Last year, the Austrian Court of Audit conducted a financial audit on smart metering, which included an audit of Netz OÖ. The final report was published in mid-January 2019; criticism was primarily levelled at the legislators and project management by authorities. The report included two recommendations for Netz OÖ, which have already been implemented.

Business development in the Grid Segment

Sales revenues in the Grid Segment compared to the reference period in the previous year fell slightly by EUR 2.4 million (-1.2%) to EUR 201.4 million. The significant increase in regulated grid utilisation fees (due to what are also considerably higher amortised upstream grid costs) as of 1 January 2018 led to a year-on-year sales increase in the electricity grid in the first quarter of the reporting period, although this only partially offset the decline in revenues in the natural gas grid due to the lower grid utilisation fees.

EBIT in the Grid Segment amounted to EUR 34.7 million in the reporting period. The decline of EUR 19.3 million (-35.7%) compared to the first half of 2017/2018 is mainly due to volume and grid tariff development in the electricity and gas grid business.

Electricity and natural gas grid as the backbone of the Upper Austrian supply infrastructure

According to current estimates for the 2018/2019 fiscal year as a whole, the electrical energy distribution volume to end customers on the electricity grid will be slightly below the all-time high level of the previous year. In the first half of the current fiscal year, the distribution volume fell by 1.2% from 4,275 GWh to 4,223 GWh.

While demand in the industrial customer sector declined compared with the same period of the previous year, it was possible to achieve slight growth with commercial and private customers.

 The distribution volume to end users from the natural gas grid increased compared with the previous year (11,513 GWh), amounting to 12,093 GWh (+ 5.0%) in the reporting period. The increase was mainly attributable to the distribution volume for conventional electricity generation to power plants and the proprietary power generating industry. Due to what was mainly milder weather in the winter months, space heating requirements were once again lower, compared to the previous year. Demand from commercial customers in the first half of 2018/2019 was also lower than in previous years.

During the reporting period, disruptions in the operation of the electricity grid due to snow pressure at the beginning of 2019 posed a major challenge. Due to heavy snowfalls and strong winds over several days, there were a large number of disturbances in the medium-voltage and low-voltage grid in the areas of Salzkammergut, Pyhrn-Eisenwurzen and Mühlviertel. The enormous snow accumulations of over two metres in some cases posed great challenges for the entire operating personnel of Netz OÖ and Energie AG Oberösterreich Tech Services GmbH. Over a period of two weeks, 130 employees worked almost continuously. To prevent disruptions, helicopters flew along line sections in the Bad Goisern area, Kasberg, the Pyhrn-Priel region and in Mühlviertel to relieve the snow load on adjacent trees. In this situation, the 110 kV high-voltage grid once again proved to be the strong and reliable backbone of the Upper Austrian electricity supply.

The general renovation of the 110 kV overhead line Ranna – Partenstein (Upper Austria Electricity Grid Master Plan 2026, Project No. 6) was still on-going at the end of the reporting period. Commissioning took place at the beginning of May 2019. In contrast to this, the construction activities for the Almtal and Kremstal power supply project (Upper Austria Electricity Grid Master Plan, Project No. 16) will continue to be interrupted until the Federal Administrative Court has ruled on the obligation to carry out an EIA. In the Pramtal South power supply project (Upper Austria Electricity Grid Master Plan, Project No. 17), compulsory legal proceedings for the construction of the power lines have been underway since autumn 2018, and construction of the Raab transformer station began in March 2019. The process of finding a route for the planned Mühlviertel Rohrbach – Langbruck electricity supply project under the lead of the State of Upper Austria and with the involvement of the grid operators (Upper Austria Electricity Grid Master Plan, Project No. 8b) continued in the first half of the current fiscal year.

The “Replacement of overhead medium-voltage lines particularly susceptible to disruption”, and “Low-voltage cabling” strategy programmes proceeded according to plan in the reporting period. This reduces the effects of windstorm events on the power supply and further increases the availability of the grid.

Due to the economic development, there was a noticeable increase in new connections and an increase in the output requirements of commercial customers in both the natural gas and electricity grids in the reporting period.