Energy Segment

Economic environment for the energy sector ¹⁾

Price development on international energy markets

Sources: EEX, ICE

The forward market prices for electricity for delivery in 2023 in Austria showed a massive upward trend especially in the summer of 2022. The main factor influencing this was the price of gas, influenced by uncertainties surrounding the Russian-Ukrainian war and the associated reduction in supplies from Russia, and worries relating to the supply situation. Starting at around EUR 90.0/MWh at the beginning of the reporting period, electricity prices moved steeply upwards. The price for the annual base of 2023 in the price zone Austria reached its highest value on 26 August 2022 at EUR 1,015.0/MWh. The average price was EUR 247.3/MWh in the 2021/2022 fiscal year. On the spot market, electricity prices rose by around 300% compared with the same period of the previous year. The average European Power Exchange (EPEX) spot price base for delivery in Austria in the reporting period was EUR 259.5/MWh with a volatile development and with prices rising sharply from what was already a high starting level in the summer of 2022.

The oil price for delivery in December 2022 rose from a low of USD 66.0/barrel of Brent crude oil at the end of November 2021 to peak at USD 114.2/barrel on 8 June 2022. Up to February 2022, the increase can be explained by the global economic upswing following the slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; from February, the effects of the Russian-Ukrainian war predominated.

In the autumn of 2021, the price increase for natural gas was still attributed to uncertainties in connection with the commissioning of the Nord-Stream 2 gas pipeline and the initially good economic outlook. From February 2022, the decline in gas supplies from Russia and increased demand as European gas storage facilities were filled led to a steep rise in prices. The Trading Hub Europe (THE) gas price for the front year 2023 rose in the fiscal year 2021/2022 from around EUR 32.0/MWh at the beginning of October 2021, peaking at EUR 314.4/MWh on 26 August 2022, to EUR 185.6/MWh by the end of September 2022, showing lateral movement in the last few weeks of the reporting period.

In the reporting period, prices for CO₂ emission allowances fluctuated between EUR 54.9/t and EUR 98.0/t. After a continuous increase in prices up to February 2022 as a result of high demand, there was a slump at the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war due to uncertainties regarding economic developments. Subsequently, demand for electricity generation again caused CO₂ prices to rise, with a need to compensate for low production levels from hydroelectric and nuclear power plants by increased use of coal and gas-fired power plants.

Business development in the Energy Segment

In the 2021/2022 fiscal year, sales revenues in the Energy Segment amounted to EUR 3,139.2 million. The notable increase compared to the same period of the previous year (EUR 1,346.1 million) is attributable to the significant increase in wholesale prices for electricity and gas, which lead to higher sales revenues in energy trading, in the sale of electricity and gas as well as in the management of power plants and electricity procurement rights.

In the reporting period, the EBIT of the Energy Segment amounted to EUR 18.8 million and was 77.2% below the level of the previous year (EUR 82.4 million). The decline was mainly caused by below-average electricity generation from hydropower plants due to low river water levels. In sales, the sharp rise in procurement prices for electricity and gas not only had a negative impact on EBIT in the Energy Segment but also triggered the recognition of risks in the form of provisions.

The use of the CCGT power plant in Timelkam on the electricity market, on the other hand, had a positive effect on the operating result. Further details on the thermal power plants can be found in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, section 24.1. Derivative financial instruments and hedging.

Besides this, contributions to results from the management of the gas storage facilities also improved, although a provision of EUR 6.8 million for the 7Fields gas storage facility had been recognised in the previous year.

Due to higher expectations of future earnings contributions, an impairment reversal in the amount of EUR 4.1 million was recognised for the Timelkam CCGT power plant in the reporting period. The previous year’s EBIT included reversals of impairment in the amount of EUR 2.8 million for the Timelkam CCGT power plant and in the amount of EUR 4.4 million for the Ebensee pumped-storage power plant project.

Increased own electricity generation despite low water levels

Total electricity procurement in the Energy Segment in the 2021/2022 fiscal year totalled 13,898 GWh and was 14.8% lower than in the previous year (16,315 GWh). While proprietary electricity procurement of 3,379 GWh was 13.6% higher than in the previous year (2,975 GWh), generation on the electricity markets was lower at 10,519 GWh (previous year: 13,340 GWh). This was mainly due to lower volumes for the management of the Group portfolios compared with the previous year.

Electricity production from thermal capacities in the Energy Segment amounted to 1,015 GWh and thus nearly doubled compared to the previous year’s value of 465 GWh. Compared to the previous year, this development is attributable to increased utilisation of the CCGT power plant Timelkam and to Cogeneration-Kraftwerke Management Oberösterreich GmbH (CMOÖ GmbH) in Laakirchen. The Timelkam CCGT power plant was in standby operation and in use for grid reserve and congestion management in the first quarter of the 2021/2022 fiscal year. However, the market situation from December onwards showed full marketability for CCGT power plants, leading to the standby for grid reserve being discontinued in January 2022 and to a resumption of electricity production for the free market; however, this use was reduced again at the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war for risk mitigation reasons.

As the water level was significantly (6.0%) lower compared with the previous year, proprietary electricity procurement from hydroelectric power during the 2021/2022 fiscal year totalled 2,232 GWh, which is 6.3% below the previous year’s figure of 2,381 GWh. Compared with the long-term average, river water levels were 12.1% below average in the reporting period. The hydro coefficient of the Group’s own power plants and procurement rights was 0.88 during the reporting period (previous year: 0.94).

Electricity procurement structure without electricity trading

2021/2022; previous year’s figures in brackets

With a view to the expansion of electricity generated from renewable energies, work pushed forward on the preliminary projects for the construction of the new Weissenbach power plant, and the replacement of the Traunfall power plant, in order to establish projects capable of approval.

As a result of the strategy project with eww ag launched in 2020, Energie AG took over the operational management of the new Traunleiten hydropower plant and of several smaller power plants as of 1 January 2022. Therefore, Energie AG now manages the entire Traun power plant chain; this allowed for further optimisation in the interaction of the generation plants, leading to a significant increase in efficiency in the production of green electricity.

Due to the changing conditions in the energy market, especially the expansion of electricity generation from volatile forms of energy such as wind and solar, there is an increasing need for additional, high-performance flexibility and storage capacities. This is why work on detailed planning, and request for quotation planning, for the Ebensee pumped-storage power plant began in the 2021/2022 fiscal year. The intent is to bring about a construction decision in the 2022/2023 fiscal year. The legally binding EIA approval notice for the project was secured as early as in the 2016/2017 fiscal year.

Ennskraftwerke AG, in which Energie AG holds a participating interest of 50%, also reported electricity production below the long-term average in the 2021/2022 fiscal year, with a hydro coefficient of 0.85 (previous year: 0.88). Energie AG holds electricity procurement rights to the hydropower plants of Ennskraftwerke AG and Verbund Hydro Power GmbH with a total annual standard production capacity amounting to 1,410 GWh.

Energie AG’s wind power portfolio in Austria continues to comprise investments in four wind parks with a pro rata overall performance of nearly 14.7 MW. Generation from wind power in the reporting period was 38 GWh (previous year: 35 GWh). The Munderfing wind farm is currently being expanded to include a further wind turbine with an output of 3.45 MW. Trial operations and commissioning are scheduled for the fiscal year 2022/2023.

Energie AG operates photovoltaic plants and PV contracting plants in Austria and Italy with a total capacity of 18 MW_p (previous year: 14 MW_p) via subsidiaries. In the fiscal year 2021/2022, PV systems generated 18 GWh of electricity (previous year: 13 GWh). A 3.3 MW_p expansion of the SolarCampus in Eberstalzell went operational in the reporting period.

The distribution of district heating from the power plant locations in Riedersbach and Timelkam was 242 GWh, a drop of 5.5% compared with the previous year (257 GWh). Due to above-average temperatures in the winter of 2021/2022, demand for space heating fell.

In Laakirchen, CMOÖ GmbH supplies a key account customer with electricity and process heat through a CCGT power plant, as well as several adjacent companies with district heating. The volume of process heat and district heating distributed to customers during the 2021/2022 fiscal year amounted to 685 GWh and was therefore 4.9% below the previous year’s value (720 GWh).

Dynamic environment and on-going development of the sales organisation

The 2021/2022 fiscal year was characterised by unprecedented dynamics on the European electricity and gas markets. Vertrieb GmbH responded to this challenging development with appropriate strategic and operational measures. In the course of the tightening of the energy markets, intensive monitoring of the Russian-Ukrainian war and its impact on the supply situation in Austria in particular has been material to energy procurement and sales.

In the competitive environment, there were price increases and customer contract terminations by other market entities; this, in turn, generated strong demand for new customer contracts in Energie AG’s Sales unit. Vertrieb GmbH responded to this development by introducing several price adjustments for new customers while ensuring that existing customers in the household and commercial sector benefitted from the price guarantee for standard electricity and gas products (with the exception of domestic/commercial float prices) and fibre-optic internet. Due to the significant increase in prices and the high volatility on the electricity and gas market, a product was developed to help business customers manage procurement timing risks; the risk mechanisms in the contracts were therefore adapted.

The General Terms and Conditions (GTC) for electricity and gas used in the consumer sector were revised in the reporting period; this was prompted, in part, by a recent decision by Austria’s Supreme Court (OHG) on price adjustment clauses.

The number of heating degree days in Upper Austria in the reporting period decreased by 3.5% compared with the previous year, and was 3.1% above the average for the past five years. This meant that there was a year-on-year decline in sales volumes in the temperature-dependent Vertrieb GmbH business units. However, due to massive price increases and high volatility, even small volume deviations are economically significant in the current market situation.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, receivables risk monitoring has been an unusually significant factor in sales activities, becoming even more important due to the current energy industry environment with greatly increased market prices. Standardised ratings ensured stability in ongoing monitoring operations and targeted risk management; as a result, no significant effects emanated from this item in the fiscal year 2021/2022.

Constant forward-looking development of the organisation, especially in dynamic times, appears material: The retirement of ENAMO as an entity and brand following the renaming of “ENAMO Ökostrom GmbH” to “Energie AG Oberösterreich Öko GmbH” completed the last of a number of milestones for achieving the target structure in the Sales unit.

Following in-depth strategic pre-analysis, the decision was also taken to discontinue electricity and gas sales activities in Germany and to implement this decision as of 31 December 2021.

Electricity sales volume

in GWh

Electricity

Electricity sales volume

in GWh

At 6,621 GWh, Energie AG’s consolidated electricity sales volume in fiscal year 2021/2022 was 369 GWh below the previous year’s figure of 6,990 GWh.

Sales volumes to business and industrial customers were down on the previous year, especially at Energie AG Oberösterreich Businesskunden GmbH (Businesskunden GmbH), where the volume fell due to customer switching and the discontinuation of business in Germany. The volumes in the residential, commercial and municipal customer sector were also below the previous year’s value due to the weather conditions.

Gas

Gas sales volume

in GWh

Gas sales volume

in GWh

At 5,461 GWh, the volume of gas sold by Energie AG in the 2021/2022 fiscal year was 946 GWh or 14.8% below the previous year’s figure of 6,407 GWh.

There were massive price fluctuations in the business and industrial customer areas. As a result, besides isolated customer losses, there was also a drop in base load deliveries and in the purchasing behaviour of existing customers. The volume sold to residential, commercial and municipal customers was slightly lower than in the previous year due to the weather conditions.

Heat

Heat sales volume Austria

in GWh

Heat sales volume Austria

in GWh

The heat sales volume in Austria amounted to 1,178 GWh in the 2021/2022 fiscal year; this was down 5.0% on the previous year’s figure of 1,240 GWh.

In addition to the district heating sales volume and the heat sales volume supplied to customers by CMOÖ GmbH, the heat sales volume also includes the volumes from energy contracting.

Telecommunications

By the end of the 2021/2022 fiscal year, 16,723 customers were already actively using Energie AG’s products (previous year: 13,166). Despite the challenging competitive environment, Energie AG was also able to convince more customers in the business customer sector of its product benefits.

Photovoltaics

In the 2021/2022 fiscal year, 61 photovoltaic contracting customer plants (previous year: 50) with an output of 9.9 MW_p (previous year: 8.4 MW_p) were in operation. In addition to this, standardised products such as the “PV Super Deal” for households or the “PV Professional Deal” for commercial customers were developed, and already saw very high demand, during the reporting period.

Electromobility

The focus of electromobility activities is currently on charging solutions and the targeted establishment of public charging stations. Energie AG currently operates 164 publicly accessible charging stations (previous year: 128) and manages a total of over 604 charging points (previous year: 425).