Energy Segment

Generation

Energie AG’s generation unit is responsible for developing, building, operating and maintaining electricity and heat generation facilities and heat distribution systems. Energie AG is committed to using renewable energy sources in an environmentally friendly manner and is building and operating hydropower plants, thermal power plants and heat supply facilities, including with the use of biomass fuels. The Company is also committed to the expansion of wind power and photovoltaic power plants. Energie AG furthermore supports research into alternative electricity generation.

Steady expansion of renewable energy

Energie AG’s 2030 targets for renewables expansion were largely affirmed by the strategy project “LOOP”. The original target of +630 GWh/a by 2030 has been doubled to +1,200 GWh/a by 2035. The further expansion of the existing generation portfolio from renewable sources is a focal point of the strategic development. According to technical and commercial potential estimates, Energie AG Group has the capacity to generate 1,200 GWh/a of renewable electricity between now and 2035 by utilising new plants (hydroelectric power, wind power, and PV) and improving the efficiency of existing plants. The existing capacities of the Energie AG Group regarding electricity generation from renewable energy sources will be increased by almost 50%, from around 2,750 GWh/a in an average year to approximately 3,950 GWh/a.

Achieving the very ambitious energy goals across all of Austria will require optimum framework conditions and the coordinated joint efforts of political and economic players as well as the general population. In addition to the streamlining and simplification of the environmental impact assessment and individual approval processes for energy generation systems, the necessary expansion of the electricity grid infrastructure for all voltage levels is an important building block for a sustainable future with regard to energy and climate change.

The increasing public acceptance of the expansion of renewable electricity generation is in stark contrast to the acceptance of concrete projects. Energie AG is responding to this development by establishing processes that facilitate the participation of the citizenry along with the concerned municipalities, neighbours and other stakeholder groups, see Strategy, Dialogue with stakeholders.

Hydroelectric power

Energie AG operates 43 of its own hydropower plants with a total capacity of around 280 MW and around 1,160 GWh in standard production capacity (previous year: 1,160 GWh). In addition, the Group holds procurement rights to run-of-river power plants along the Enns and Donau as well as to the pumped-storage power plant Malta/Reisseck II with a proportionate standard production capacity of around 1,410 GWh (previous year: 1,410 GWh).

Energie AG mainly engages in the long-term management of hydropower plants on the electricity market while supplying important grid services such as the provision of balancing energy.

Hydroelectric power is the most important pillar of Austria's electricity supply. The nation has set itself the target of generating an additional 5 TWh from this energy source by the year 2030. The largest part of the electricity procurement in Energie AG's power plant portfolio is also generated by hydroelectric power plants. Upper Austria has already reached a very high degree of resource utilisation of more than 90% in this area. Projects involving the construction of the Weissenbach power plant and replacement of the Traunfall power plant have been submitted with a view to maximising the potential for clean electricity by 2030. The Weissenbach project not only delivers environmentally friendly electricity but is also a valuable contribution to flood protection in the region. Environmental measures will be designed with a view to minimising and compensating for the loss of works water for hydroelectric power generation.

Storage expansion, including construction of the pumped-storage power plant in Ebensee, creates flexibility with regard to electricity supply in Austria, see Corporate strategy 2035, Reliability in supply and waste management services.

Photovoltaics

The expansion of photovoltaics will be implemented with the help of Group-owned PV plants as well as on-site PPAs for rooftop-mounted photovoltaic plants. Energie AG operates in accordance with the “Photovoltaic Strategy for Upper Austria 2030”.

Energie AG Group is operating 100 PV power plants (previous year: 84) with an output of approximately 21 MW (previous year: 18 MW) and a standard production capacity of 21 GWh (previous year: 19 GWh).

Two Group-owned PV plants were being implemented during the 2022/2023 fiscal year. One PV system with an output of 1.46 MWp was installed on the roof of an equestrian facility. In the second project, the capacity of the existing PV plant at the Energie AG site in Timelkam was expanded by around 1.15 MWp, ensuring the closed landfill site will be used as effectively as possible to generate electricity. Both plants went into operation at the start of the 2023/2024 fiscal year.

In the 2022/2023 fiscal year, Umwelt Service GmbH took additional significant steps towards decarbonising energy supply at its operational sites. Following the construction and commissioning of a PV plant, for example, the Mühldorf site in Carinthia has been operating with energy self-sufficiency, i.e. fully independently of external suppliers, since spring 2023.

Wind power

In addition to the facilities in Munderfing, Upper Austria, Energie AG is also invested in wind power facilities located in the municipalities of Trautmannsdorf and Scharndorf in Lower Austria. Together with local partners, Energie AG Group owns interest stakes in four wind parks with 14 wind turbines (previous year: 13) via subsidiaries and thereby makes an active contribution to achieving the climate targets. The wind power facilities have a proportional output of around 15 MW (previous year: 15 MW) and a standard production capacity of around 38 GWh (previous year: 36 GWh). A new wind turbine generating 3.45 MW was built at the Munderfing wind farm in October 2022.

An expansion of wind power generation is planned for the Kobernaußerwald region by 2030. The construction of up to 19 new wind turbines in the communities of Schalchen, Maria Schmolln, Lengau and St. Johann am Walde is under study.

In the 2022/2023 fiscal year, 80.9% of Energie AG’s proprietary electricity procurement came from renewable sources (previous year: 68.3%), with around 92.4% of this coming from hydroelectric power (previous year: 91.4%¹⁾) and the remainder from PV systems, wind power, biomass and biogenic waste. One reason for the higher proportion of electricity production from renewable sources has been the rise in river water levels. Although, with a hydro coefficient of 0.93, this figure was 7.0% below the long-term average, it exceeded the previous year’s value by 5.0%. Another reason was the fact that the use of thermal power plants more than halved because of market conditions.

Effects of climate change on the business model

The Group's business policy accommodates changes caused by the effects of climate change. This includes the monitoring of relevant studies that examine changes in precipitation and prolonged periods of drought in the catchment areas of Energie AG's hydropower plants. A statistically significant change of the standard production capacity of the hydropower plants is so far neither apparent nor can it yet be assessed. The current volatility on the electricity markets (price volatility) greatly exceeds the economic uncertainty due to potential changes to the standard production capacity caused by climate change. The effects are distorted by the natural fluctuation of water levels and legal uncertainties that affect the generation of hydroelectric power. Energie AG responds to these uncertainties, e. g. with measures aimed at maintaining the best possible state-of-the-art technology for each individual power plant.

Energie AG is prepared for a possible increase in the frequency of extreme events, particularly including flooding incidents. Organisation in the case of extreme events concerns the operational management of power plants, and above all weir operation regulations. The most important measures and concepts have been coordinated with the relevant public authorities and are reviewed and updated regularly.

Need for flexibility in electricity production

In addition to a high-performance grid infrastructure, the security of supply also depends on a secure and flexible energy output. After reaching the “100% renewable energy sources” target in electricity generation in the year 2030, the summer months are expected to deliver a clear surplus production of PV electricity. In winter, on the other hand, it is not possible to cover the higher electricity demand - mainly resulting from heat pumps, e-mobility and industrial electrification - due to the insufficient output of the PV and wind power plants. “Backup capacities” from flexible CCGT power plants are needed to warrant the system stability during these months. The CCGT power plant Timelkam plays an important role in congestion management and as a grid reserve.

To provide flexible capacity at short notice, which may be necessary due to deviations from forecasts of actual electricity production via wind power and PV plants, Energie AG is implementing the pumped-storage power plant in Ebensee, see Corporate strategy 2035. While battery storage and controlling consumption behaviour may be sensible additions from today’s perspective, they fall a long way short of covering the total additional need for flexibility on their own. Maintaining the system stability requires synchronous and parallel support for the volatile generation from renewable sources by flexible “backup capacities” such as pumped-storage power plants. The appropriate regulatory and public funding framework will have to be put in place for these extremely capital-intense investments.

Thermal power plants & district heating

In terms of ensuring security of supply, Energie AG’s fleet of thermal power plants is playing an important role in the transition to clean and renewable energy. It can balance the volatile feed-in of renewable energy and acts as a reserve in the case of grid congestion. Biomass CHP plants also make an important contribution for the use of renewable energy.

Energie AG has six locations ²⁾ for thermal power plants with an output of around 400 MW_e and a standard production capacity of up to 2,250 GWh ³⁾. The power plant with the highest output in Upper Austria is the CCGT power plant in Timelkam with an output of 405 MW_e ⁴⁾. It warrants the flexibility needed to guarantee the security of supply on the energy market and allows for a stabilisation of the electricity grid during congestion management. The Timelkam plant is particularly relevant to the Austrian control area manager with regard to the security of supply.

The biomass power plant at Timelkam (output: 9.5 MW_e, 28 MW_t) uses forest and herbaceous biomass as well as biogenic waste in accordance with the Austrian Green Electricity Act to generate green electricity and district heating.

All thermal electricity and heat generation plants of Energie AG exhibit a very high degree of fuel utilisation and, in turn, efficient use of primary energy resources.

Conserving resources is more than simply a focus area in the operation of these plants; it begins as soon as infrastructure facilities are built and spans their entire useful life. The environmental impact of new production and supply facilities is kept as low as possible with the close involvement of affected stakeholders and the support of outside experts. A forward-thinking maintenance strategy ensures high system availability and maximises system lifespans.

Increasing energy efficiency in electricity and heat production, distribution grids, and customers’ energy and water consumption is a permanent focus of efforts to achieve sustainability.

The Group ensures that thermal power plants and heat generation processes remain environmentally friendly by using state-of-the-art practices, which are regularly reviewed both internally and externally. The use of combined heat and power (CHP), combined electricity and heat generation, plays an important role in improving efficiency. The heat is used for industrial process heating or district heating for the industrial sector, commercial applications and residential customers. Efficiency gains are also realised via environmental and other audits, maintenance and repairs, and via internal improvement processes as part of ongoing management efforts. The Group is continuing to expand the use of heat. Energie AG regularly obtains expert opinions to verify that its larger facilities are operating with high efficiency.

Energie AG operates 12 district heating distribution networks (previous year: 12) and manages 626 heating systems under service contracts on behalf of customers (previous year: 614). A large share of the district heating is generated from highly efficient CHP plants and biomass power plants. Alongside the operation of geothermal plants, industrial waste heat is being utilised.

Energie AG’s portfolio of power plants and district heat generation facilities provide a solid foundation for further developments in the area of renewable heat.

Renewable heat

In the area of heat, Energie AG has already initiated the switch to renewable energy through a number of projects over the past years. Until the year 2030, all of the measures combined will lead to a quota of 80% for sustainable, CO₂-neutral heat generation from biomass with more than 260 GWh from biomass (Erzeugung GmbH, district heating networks Aschach, Freistadt, Pregarten, Weichstetten, Bioenergie Steyr GmbH and Energie Contracting Steyr GmbH), approx. 45 GWh from geothermal (GRB Geothermie Ried Bohrung GmbH and Geothermie-Fördergesellschaft Simbach-Braunau mbH), and approx. 27 GWh from industrial waste heat utilisation (Kirchdorf and Gmunden). As part of the “Future initiative electricity and heat supply Wels” project, the climate-friendly and resource-efficient expansion of heat supply was expanded for the city of Wels in the form of waste heat utilisation via the local waste incineration plant (WAV). In the 2022/2023 fiscal year, heat extraction from WAV stood at 283 GWh; in the long term, an increase to around 390 GWh is envisaged. The use of fossil fuels is being reduced by maximising the utilisation of heat from waste incineration. The strategy of densification and optimisation of the existing district heating networks is being continued. Expansion of the district heating site at Freistadt is planned. The cornerstones of the project are the expansion of biomass generation facilities by 2.5 MW, and of the district heating network by 1,900 metres of pipework. Commissioning is scheduled for the 2023/2024 fiscal year.

For more information about energy generation, see the Group Management Report, Key performance indicators as well as the Energy Segment.

Sales

The energy savings that result from giving well-founded energy advice are a significant contribution to environmental protection and cost reduction efforts. Energy efficiency and advice have been among Energie AG's core competencies for many years. Most of the Company's customer advisers in Austria are certified “European Energy Managers” (EUREM) who can support their customers on-site, e.g. on trade fairs or in the business customer sector, on the basis of concrete analyses.

As a provider of energy audits in accordance with the Federal Energy Efficiency Act 2023, Vertrieb GmbH and its wholly owned subsidiary IfEA Institut für Energieausweis GmbH (IfEA) employ nine listed energy auditors (previous year: 12), making them one of the largest providers of this service in Austria. IfEA offers a wide range of other energy services for individuals and companies that seek to promote a sustainable and conscious consumption of energy and enable customers to benefit from easily accessible high-quality services. Energy performance certificates, thermograms and blower door tests are the most common services offered to individuals. The IfEA supports businesses on the road to greater sustainability and resource-efficiency by offering energy audits, energy advice for small and medium-sized companies (SMEs), CO₂ footprint analyses, load profile analyses for electricity and natural gas, optimisation concepts and the ZukunftsFIT check. Delivered in cooperation with an external cooperation partner, IfEA's Fit4Green service creates significant additional value for customers. The focus is on energy efficiency, decarbonisation, development of a climate strategy and concrete implementation planning. It also includes a public funding strategy. To raise awareness of greater sustainability among the employees of Energie AG, staff were offered energy performance certificates and building thermograms at discounted rates as part of a special campaign in 2023.

Vertrieb GmbH offers its customers CO₂-free electricity labelling for residential and commercial customers. The energy mix amounts to 0 grams CO₂/kWh. The fuel mix disclosure uses 100% renewable energy sources. Additionally, Öko GmbH is supplying municipal public and business customers with electricity that is certified with the Austrian Ecolabel UZ46. The Ecolabel distinguishes tariff models and products offered by green electricity traders who fully source their electricity from renewable energy sources and conform with transparent, clearly defined requirements and criteria.

Following the legally required change of reporting period to one calendar year, the disclosure for the delivery period from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022 is shown in the diagrams below. Also new is the distinction between a primary fuel mix disclosure, which provides a general overview, and a secondary fuel mix disclosure with the same level of detail as before. Since the primary fuel mix disclosure must be applied to invoices, advertising materials and the website and is legally standardised as regards layout, this depiction is also chosen here.

For the most part, Energie AG supplies its electricity customers with electricity from environmentally friendly hydroelectric power. The following presentations of the energy mix of the product label “Upper Austria hydroelectric power” (“OÖ Wasserkraft”) and the product label “Upper Austria green electricity” (“OÖ Ökostrom”) of the Vertrieb GmbH relate to the 2022 calendar year.

The majority of Energie AG's residential and commercial customers use the product mix “Upper Austria hydroelectric power”:

The product mix “Upper Austria green electricity” presents as follows:

Vertrieb GmbH also offers a CO₂-reduced gas product, which contains biogas from the biogas plant in Engerwitzdorf. The biomethane plant in Engerwitzdorf supplied around 12.0 GWh (previous year: 11.9 GWh) of renewable gas (biomethane) into the natural gas grid in fiscal year 2022/2023.

In accordance with the provisions of § 130 of the Gas Industry Act (GWG) 2011 and the Gas Labelling Ordinance (Gaskennzeichnungsverordnung), the origins of gas supplied were required to be specified for the first time in calendar year 2022. Since no fixed standard is yet specified regarding the form of presentation, the energy mix for Energie AG was based on the previous fuel mix disclosure. The composition of total gas sales to Energie AG customers is as follows:

Energy efficiency at the customer

The Federal Energy Efficiency Act (Bundes-Energieeffizienzgesetz) of 2014 was to the largest part rescinded at the end of calendar year 2020. The amendment announced on 14 July 2023 re-enacts a number of obligations. One key obligation is the performance of an energy audit or the introduction of an energy or environmental management system. Energy suppliers are also required to set up an advice centre for households. To meet its obligations, Energie AG depends on expert staff at its subsidiary IfEA.

In addition to legal obligations, the products and services of the Vertrieb GmbH focus on advancing renewable energies and improving the energy efficiency at the customer. It therefore devises numerous incentives based on funding and campaigns to support the efficient use of energy and the use of energy-efficient, sustainable products and technologies. The portfolio aimed at enhancing energy efficiency is linked to funding programmes from the Province of Upper Austria and expanded in line with trends.

In calendar year 2022, some 19,000 free LED lights (previous year: 27,000) were distributed to customers as part of the Energy Saving Trade Fair and a regional tour.

The household appliance exchange campaign promotes the replacement of old energy-hungry household appliances with energy-efficient new appliances. In cooperation with the network of partner stores, the number of customers who replaced one of their household appliances was further increased in the year 2022. 1,041 old household appliances were replaced with more efficient new models (previous year: 845), 1,002 of them were in the white goods category (e.g. fridges, freezers, washing machines; previous year: 813). In the past fiscal year, the campaign also included a repair voucher to encourage sustainability.

The provisioning of heat accounts for a significant portion of the total energy demand of households in Austria and is the reason behind Energie AG's support of various campaigns and initiatives that promote the replacement of old heating systems with state-of-the-art heating solutions. The advice Energie AG gives its customers in the form of energy advisory services is complemented by a continued push for energy-efficient heating with the help of heat pumps.

In calendar year 2022, Energie AG funded a total of 808 heat pumps, a significant increase on the previous year’s figure of 394. Of these, 162 (previous year: 113) were installed in new buildings, 171 (previous year: 68) were in renovated older buildings and 445 (previous year: 197) were in unrenovated older buildings. Funding was also made available to 30 projects that sought to replace hot water heat pumps (previous year: 16). The number of heat pumps in Upper Austria is expected to increase to over 200,000 by 2035. Energie AG plans to support roughly half of these through electricity supplies, on-site PPAs or financing.

Working with the network of market partners, the successful “Raus aus Öl” (“Exit Oil”) campaign continued in calendar year 2022, encouraging customers to switch from old oil-fired heating systems to new, environmentally friendly and energy-efficient heat pumps. Similarly, the funding programme was expanded to include a “Raus aus Gas” (“Exit Gas”) bonus at the end of December 2022.

The “energy saver package” campaign, which in recent fiscal years encouraged the replacement of old heating systems with efficient natural gas-fired condensing boilers, has not been actively promoted since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine broke out. In line with contractual terms, however, the campaign did remain current until the end of 2022.

Heat purchase agreements (HPAs) for efficient heating systems were also offered in the public institution, housing, commerce and industry sectors. The focus was on supplying heat from renewable energy sources using heat pumps and pellets. For existing HPAs, the focus is on decarbonisation, usually via a district heating connection.

Energie AG has extensive expertise in the area of photovoltaics. On-site PV power purchase agreements (PPAs) enable business and industrial customers to harvest the benefits of an environmentally friendly PV electricity generation without having to finance the installation of the system and take care of its operation. Vertrieb GmbH is operating a total of 74 PV on-site PV PPAs for customers (previous year: 61) with an output of around 12.3 MWp (previous year: 9.9 MWp) on the roofs of companies in Upper Austria. Additional PV plants are currently under construction at customers' premises under on-site power purchase agreements.