After some serious market disruption affecting components for power plant construction and the impact of this on prices and supply times in Energie AG’s procurement areas over the past two years, the picture is beginning to stabilise. Although prices remain high and delivery times are lengthy, there are no volatile fluctuations to report at this time. Against this background, suppliers are being evaluated on the basis of preselection criteria. Consent to the Code of Conduct and confirmation by contractors in Austria is the precondition for successful selection.
In contrast to the aforementioned stabilisation trend for power plant components, the production capacities of the main European manufacturers of network transformers, converters and electricity transmission components are fully utilised for a long time ahead. This is manifesting in lengthy and uncertain supply times as well as high and volatile prices. Energie AG addresses this by concluding long-term framework agreements with best bidders and secondary bidders.
Anyone contracting with Energie AG in Austria as a supplier, and subsequently any of their subcontractors, must give an undertaking to perform orders in compliance with the relevant legal regulations, including all employee protection regulations, e.g. the Employee Protection Act, Regulation on the Protection of Construction Workers; the Employment of Foreign Nationals, legally compliant waste disposal, and no prior convictions for wage and social dumping. The associated Code of Conduct for Contractors forms part of agreements every time an order is placed, see Compliance section.
With regard to the enactment of the future Supply Chain Act (Lieferkettengesetz) in Austria, Energie AG has taken steps to ensure it meets the new requirements. These include the revision of supplier screening in line with ESRS standards and the drafting of a strategy paper. If necessary, relevant contractual conditions in this regard will be adapted.
For more information on the supply chain and procurement, see the Social affairs, Regional responsibility and social commitment.
The operating units of the Czech Republic Segment collaborate with various local, national and international suppliers, including the energy suppliers and providers of technological water and waste water solutions required for operational processing. Associations organised by towns and local communities are key partners in the provision of water. Suppliers in the heating area include biomass providers, a biomass power plant and an international production company from which industrial waste heat is procured.
The procurement of natural gas for Energie AG customers, for the production of electricity and heat and for the management of gas storage facilities is undertaken via stock exchanges in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, and via bilateral agreements with trading partners in the EU, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Norway. Energie AG has no direct contracts with natural gas extractors. For systemic reasons, the physical origins of gas cannot be determined owing to lack of proof of origin. According to the European Gas Flow Dashboard of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG), the make-up of gas flows into the EU continued to change in the 2022/2023 fiscal year. The proportion of Russian pipeline gas between October 2022 and September 2023 was approximately 7%, compared to around 25% as recently as September 2021 to October 2022. The main increases were in the proportions of liquefied natural gas (LNG, up +10%) and North Sea gas (up +4%).