Security and quality of supply

Security of supply is the fundamental basis for general business growth, job creation and quality of life. Energie AG’s services are a major driver of Upper Austria’s international competitiveness as a business location. The Waste Management Segment offers reliable waste management services in its market areas, covering every link in the value chain at the highest technical level.

Netz O֒s asset management efforts are aimed at achieving the highest possible levels of efficiency in all activities in terms of reliability, quality and cost-effectiveness. The Company’s measures to promote security of supply and quality are primarily focused on the medium and low-voltage grids. Energie AG consistently improves grid quality via targeted replacement of existing overhead lines with cable and by increasing the degree of grid automation in the medium-voltage portion.

To assess the security and quality of supply, key performance indicators such as grid reliability, grid interruptions and their causes (interruption time >3 minutes)are determined on an annual basis. The Group then uses these findings to establish options for future action in the context of grid maintenance and expansion.

Netz OÖ operates an electricity grid consisting of 32,873 km of power lines (previous year: 32,648 km), in addition to a 5,603 km natural gas grid (previous year: 5,585 km). These reliable and modern grids warrant the secure energy supply for more than 560,000 customers.

The electricity grid’s supply reliability, measured in terms of service-related availability (ASIDI; Average System Interruption Duration Index) and not taking regionally exceptional events into account, was 31.62 min/a in calendar year 2019 (2018: 38.02 min/a). Customer-related system disruption (SAIDI – System Average Interruption Duration Index) stood at 34.47 min/a (2018: 37.26 min/a). The availability of the natural gas grid was 100% in calendar year 2019, as was the case in the previous year.

In the generation unit, the Group takes a holistic approach to optimise technical availability, starting with the planning and designing phase of power plants as well as by systematically developing maintenance strategies as part of due diligence measures. State-of-the-art, IT-supported operational management systems are used for monitoring and implementation.

In addition to the environmental measures adopted during plant design, flood protection improvements also play a crucial role in Energie AG’s run-of-river power plant construction projects. The individual steps to be taken during day-to-day operation are set out in the officially approved workplace regulations.

Supply reliability Telecommunication

The supply reliability for customer connections in the fibre-optic network is determined by analysing the fault resolution times from the trouble ticket system. In the reporting period, it amounted to 99.99% (previous year: 99.96%). The fault resolution time designates the timespan between receipt of the fault report and the resolution of the fault. At the end of the reporting period, the Group's own fibre-optic network comprised around 6,600 km (previous year: 6,100 km).

Supply reliability Czech Republic

Water supply availability in the Czech Republic Segment is constantly at or above 99.99%. Network quality in the drinking water sector fluctuates from year to year between 0.2 and 0.3 cases of damage per kilometre per year, mainly due to changing winter and frost conditions. Network quality in the waste water sector is measured at around 0.1 grid interruptions per kilometre per year.

In regions affected by climate changed-caused drought and increasing scarcity of water, Energie AG secures the supply by subsidiaries that supply drinking water via tankers and cisterns. One measure to improve security of supply is the interregional integration of water supply systems. This enables drinking water from areas with surplus water to be sent to areas suffering from shortages. Energie AG's subsidiaries also support their contractual partners in projects aimed at securing resources with extensive know-how in the area of water management.

Waste management reliability

In order to warrant the safe and reliable collection and management of all types of waste during the COVID-19 pandemic, the spring months of 2020 saw the adjustment of the operational processes of Umwelt Service GmbH in Wels and the construction of employee accommodation premises. The premises were earmarked to provide board and accommodation to the incineration plant's employees in the case of a quarantine order with the objective of warranting the uninterrupted operation of the thermal processing plant.