Grid Segment

Statutory and regulatory environment

As of 1 January 2020, the grid usage fees of the electricity sector rose by between 8.4% at grid level 7 and 11.7% at grid level 4 due to an increase in the cost base compared to the previous year, mainly as a result of higher investments and the roll-up of upstream grid costs. In addition to this, the regulatory parameters established remained stable in the 4th regulatory period.

In the System Usage Fees Ordinance for Electricity 2020 (SNE-VO 2020), the metering charges were newly regulated, with the metering charges for low-voltage load profile metering and quarter-hour maximum metering being significantly reduced as of 1 January 2020.

In the natural gas sector, the grid usage fees for consumers at grid level 3 fell by 2.6%. In contrast, there was an increase of 6.9% for end consumers at grid level 2. The reason for the increase was higher upstream grid costs.

The general economic conditions for natural gas have been defined for the 3rd regulatory period since 1 January 2018, but the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber and the Federal Chamber of Labour have objected against the stipulations made by the regulatory authority. The proceedings are pending before the courts; some of them have already been concluded. Some of the parameters set for the 3rd regulatory period were aggravated for the industry by these decisions. However, the decision on the appeals concerning Netz Oberösterreich GmbH (Netz OÖ) is still pending.

Business development in the Grid Segment

Revenues in the Grid Segment fell by EUR 1.8 million (-0.9%) to EUR 199.6 million compared with the same period last year. The decline in revenue is mainly due to the tariff reduction in the natural gas grid.

The EBIT of the Grid Segment amounted to EUR 27.5 million in the period under review. The decline of EUR 7.2 million (-20.7%) compared to the first half of 2018/2019 is due to lower sales revenues and, above all, to higher grid expenses (upstream grid costs and grid losses) in both the electricity and gas sectors. Higher amortization compared with the same period last year also contributed to the decline in earnings.

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

During the first six months of the current fiscal year, the electricity grid distribution volume dropped by 2.7% from 4,223 GWh to 4,110 GWh compared to the previous year. Demand in the industrial customer sector dropped significantly compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, while the volumes sold to commercial and private customers remained constant.

The distribution volume to end users from the natural gas grid increased slightly compared with the previous year (12,093 GWh), amounting to 12,176 GWh (+0.7%) in the reporting period. Due to the slightly colder weather, the space heating requirement increased slightly. In contrast, consumption in industry and by power plants remained constant compared to the previous year.

In the period under review, disruptions in electricity grid operations due to several storms at the beginning of 2020 posed a major challenge. The two storm events “Lolita” and “Petra”, at the end of January and the beginning of February 2020 respectively, affected about 20,000 customer installations. Storm “Sabine” hit Upper Austria even harder on 10 and 11 February 2020, sometimes at hurricane force and with peak wind speeds of up to 125 km/h. The districts of Schärding and Rohrbach were mainly affected, followed the next day by the districts of Braunau and Kirchdorf and the lake district. 30,000 and 15,000 households respectively were without electricity for several hours. Most recently, storm “Bianca” at the end of February caused failures in the supply area and, as a result, numerous deployments of Netz OÖ and Energie AG Oberösterreich Tech Services GmbH employees. In this situation, the 110 kV high-voltage grid once again proved to be a strong and reliable backbone of the electricity supply in Upper Austria.

Construction activities for the Almtal and Kremstal electricity supply project (Upper Austria Electricity Grid Master Plan, Project No. 16) were resumed in mid-August 2019 after a one-year interruption due to legal uncertainties regarding the obligation to carry out an EIA following a ruling by the European Court of Justice, and are now underway. In the meantime, the Steinfelden substation was completed at the end of 2019. In the first half of 2019/2020, the first-instance proceedings for the granting of compulsory rights for easements in the Pramtal South electricity supply project (Upper Austria Electricity Grid Master Plan, Project No. 17) were completed. The Raab substation is currently under construction and geotechnical soil investigations are underway. In the period under review, all landowner information events were held in the Mühlviertel Rohrbach – Langbruck electricity supply project (Upper Austria Electricity Grid Master Plan, Project No. 8b). A detailed route is being planned on the basis of the preferential corridor and the feedback received at the information events.

The “Replacement of overhead medium-voltage lines particularly susceptible to disruption” and “Low-voltage cabling” strategy programmes and the systematic expansion of grid automation proceeded according to plan in the first half of 2019/2020. This further reduces the effects of windstorm events on the power supply and increases the availability of the grid.

In the period under review, both the natural gas and electricity grids again recorded a marked increase in new connections.