Energy Segment

Economic framework conditions for the energy sector ¹⁾

Price development on international energy markets

Sources: EEX, ICE, LSEG

Starting at the high level of the 2022/2023 fiscal year, the baseload electricity price on the forward market reached a high of EUR 133.4/MWh at the beginning of the reporting period as a result of the attack on Israel by the terrorist organisation Hamas in mid-October 2023. This was followed by an almost unabated downward trend to a low of EUR 73.0/MWh at the end of February 2024. Prices subsequently recovered and went into a sideways movement with high bandwidth and volatility. The main influencing factors here were the prices for coal, gas and CO₂ emission allowances as well as the macroeconomic development. The price at the end of the reporting period was EUR 91.1/MWh, which is below the average price of EUR 96.7/MWh for the 2023/2024 fiscal year. On the spot market, prices also dropped to around half 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 75.2/MWh with a volatile development with fluctuations ranging between EUR -126.4/MWh and EUR 1,965/MWh.

The Brent crude oil price in December 2024 ranged between a high of USD 85.6/barrel (bl) on 5 April 2024 and a low of USD 68.6/bl on 10 September 2024.

In the past fiscal year, the Central European Gas Hub (CEGH) price for natural gas for delivery in the front year 2025 in Austria was affected both by geopolitical crises and by buffering factors such as the diversification of supply sources, high storage levels and a fall in demand. After reaching a high of EUR 49.5/MWh in mid-October 2023, the price had dropped to EUR 28.1/MWh by the end of February 2024. After a slight recovery, prices moved sideways, closing at EUR 39.5/MWh at the end of the 2023/2024 fiscal year.

In the reporting period, prices for CO₂ emissions allowances fluctuated between EUR 90.1/t and EUR 52.2/t. By February 2024, the prices had dropped from a high in mid-October 2023 to their lowest levels. Here too, this was followed by a recovery with a subsequent sideways trend.

Business development in the Energy Segment

At EUR 2,259.6 million, sales revenues in the Energy Segment were below the previous year’s figure. Besides the impact of lower sales volumes, the decline was specifically due to lower wholesale prices for electricity and gas compared to the previous year; this led to a fall in electricity and gas sales as well as in the management of the electricity and gas portfolio and gas storage facilities.

In the reporting period, the EBIT of the Energy Segment amounted to EUR 318.6 million, which was EUR 162.3 million above that of the same period of the previous year. The EBIT was positively affected by above-average water levels in rivers and the resulting higher generation volumes from proprietary hydropower plants and procurement rights, as well as higher market prices in the business unit Generation. In addition, increased earnings contributions from the management of gas storage facilities had a positive impact on results. In contrast to this, declining sales volumes and prices in the Sales unit had a negative impact on the operating result in the Energy Segment. In addition, the legally prescribed absorption of revenue from the sale of electricity in line with the Federal Act on the Energy Crisis Contribution for Electricity had a negative impact on earnings. Besides this, impairment losses on district heating plants amounting to EUR 11.4 million had a negative impact on EBIT. Like in the same period of the previous year, an impairment in the amount of EUR 9.1 million (previous year: EUR 10.2 million) was recognised for the Timelkam CCGT power plant due to lower expectations in terms of future earnings contributions.

Increased volumes of electricity generated from hydroelectric power and decrease in production from non-renewable sources

Electricity procurement in the Energy Segment in the 2023/2024 fiscal year totalled 10,082 GWh and was 13.1% lower than in the previous year (11,590 GWh). The main reason for this downward trend was a 19.2% decrease in the volume of electricity procured from third parties to 6,966 GWh compared with the 2022/2023 fiscal year (previous year: 8,619 GWh). In contrast to this, proprietary electricity generation in the reporting period was 3,116 GWh, 4.9% above the previous year’s figure (2,971 GWh).

At 2,793 GWh, electricity generated from renewable sources showed a highly positive development and was up by 12.3% on the previous year’s figure of 2,488 GWh. The largest share of 94.9% was contributed by electricity generated from hydroelectric power at 2,651 GWh (previous year: 2,359 GWh). Water levels in rivers were 8.2% above the long-term average and 12.4% above the previous year’s figure. The hydro coefficient in the reporting period was 1.08 (previous year: 0.93). In the Energy Segment, electricity generated from biomass, biogenic waste, photovoltaics and wind increased by 10.1% to 142 GWh (previous year: 129 GWh).

Electricity production from thermal capacities in the Energy Segment amounted to 323 GWh, dropping by nearly one third compared to the previous year’s value of 483 GWh. Compared to the previous year, this development is attributable to the limited market signals for the utilisation of the CCGT power plants at Timelkam and of Cogeneration-Kraftwerke Management Oberösterreich GmbH (CMOÖ GmbH) in Laakirchen. During the reporting period, both systems were used both on the free electricity market and to maintain grid stability in the scope of congestion management.

The drop in trading volumes due to lower management activities at the thermal generation plants saw electricity procured from third parties fall. The electricity procurement structure in the Energy Segment was as follows in the reporting period:

Electricity procurement structure without electricity trading

2023/2024; previous year’s figures in brackets

Energie AG provides the impetus for a sustainable energy future, and is pushing forward the expansion of electricity generation from renewable sources. The pumped-storage power plant in Ebensee will be completed in the next few years. With an investment volume of some EUR 450.0 million, this project is the largest single investment in the history of Energie AG. The pumped storage power plants are capable of storing large amounts of energy and making it available at a later date when there is demand to match. An important element of the energy transition, pumped storage will provide valuable flexibility to compensate for volatile PV and wind power plants and ensure grid stability. Construction began in October 2023 with the preparation of the construction site in Rumitzgraben in conjunction with extensive amphibian protection measures. In February 2024, work on drilling the tunnel began. The focus in March 2024 was on constructing the access tunnel to the cavern for the powerhouse and the construction of the dam at the upstream reservoir. By July 2024, the access tunnel with a length of 460 metres had already been completed and the cavern reached. At the end of the 2023/2024 fiscal year, a passageway was built through the cavern in order to subsequently advance the excavation of the cavern inside the mountain. At the same time, work was carried out on the dam embankments at the headwater reservoir in the Rumitzgraben and on driving the headrace from the headwater reservoir to the cavern. The excavation of the pressure tunnel, which connects the headrace reservoir with the surge tank, was completed over a length of 864 metres and with a diameter of 4.4 metres. The power plant will generate electricity for 10 full-load hours with a storage capacity of 1.32 million m³ and an output of 170 MW. The period for constructing the Ebensee pumped-storage power plant alone is around four years. Commissioning is scheduled for the end of 2027.

In addition, the Weißenbach power plant new building was approved in terms of water and energy law. The environmental impact assessment procedure for the replacement construction of the Traunfall power plant will reach the oral approval hearing in the near future.

In the reporting period, building work began on a biomass heating plant at the Riedersbach power plant location with an output of some 5 MW. This combined heat and power plant is intended to largely replace gas consumption for the district heating supply, making a significant contribution to decarbonising energy generation.

Energie AG has a shareholding of 50.0% in Ennskraftwerke AG and electricity procurement rights totalling some 38.0%. The hydro coefficient of electricity generated was above the long-term average at 1.07 on a pro rata basis in the 2023/2024 fiscal year (previous year: 0.88). Energie AG additionally holds electricity procurement rights for the hydropower plants of Verbund Hydro Power GmbH. All told, electricity procurement rights from hydroelectric power amount to a standard production capacity of some 1,410 GWh.

Energie AG’s wind power portfolio in Austria comprises shareholdings in four wind parks with an overall output consolidated using the equity method of 15.2 MW. Proprietary electricity generation at a pro rata basis in the reporting period was 40 GWh (previous year: 33 GWh).

In the 2023/2024 fiscal year, Energie AG acquired an interest in the Slovenian project company AAE Gamit. The intent is to develop wind power and PV projects with a total peak output of over 180 MW in Slovenia over the next five years. The project areas are located in the Primorska region in southern Slovenia close to the Adriatic coast and offer great potential in terms of the expected hours of wind and sunshine. The required wind measurement campaigns are currently in planning and initial biological surveys have already started on site.

Energie AG operates PV plants in Austria and Italy with a total capacity of 24 MW_p (previous year: 21 MW_p). 22 GWh of electricity was generated by these systems in the 2023/2024 fiscal year (previous year: 17 GWh). This figure also includes electricity from customer contracting systems. In the reporting period, Energie AG planned the installation of an agricultural PV system in Pischelsdorf in Upper Austria in cooperation with partners. The building work started shortly before the end of the 2023/2024 fiscal year. With a total output of 4.58 MW_p and 7,514 PV modules, this is the largest agricultural PV system on grassland and farmland in Upper Austria. Commissioning is scheduled for spring 2025.

Energie AG supplies several areas in Upper Austria, including Kirchdorf, Gmunden and Vöcklabruck, with sustainable district heating. The distribution of district heating from the power plant locations in Riedersbach and Timelkam was 224 GWh, a drop of 2.9% compared with the previous year (231 GWh) due to the mild weather. Expansion of the district heating site in Freistadt has entered the implementation phase. The cornerstones of the project are the expansion of the biomass power plants by 2.5 MW and of the district heating network by 2,400 metres of pipework. Commissioning will take place next fiscal year.

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 2023/2024 fiscal year amounted to 649 GWh and was therefore 9.6% above the previous year’s value (593 GWh).

Consistent focus on customers and changed customer behaviour

In 2023/2024 fiscal year, Energie AG Oberösterreich Vertrieb GmbH (Vertrieb GmbH) focused its activities on systematically pursuing the measures derived from the Group-wide “LOOP” strategy project. This essentially shaped the organisational structure of the company and also contributed to forward-looking, sustainable developments in the product portfolio of the Sales units. The main focus here was on the introduction of new products concentrating on decarbonisation, the expansion of offerings in the e-mobility and PV sectors as well as further optimisations in the context of digitalisation and customer experience.

Long-term planning and the procurement measures which Vertrieb GmbH derived from this in the domestic, commercial and agricultural areas are based on parameters such as the forecast weather, average consumption, standard load profiles and anticipated customer response with regard to a change in consumption behaviour in the context of e-mobility, the changeover to heat pumps as heating and cooling systems as well as the infeed volumes and storage options for installed PV systems. Above all, the trend towards installing local PV systems continued; triggered by high energy prices and ongoing since 2022, this led to a further increase in the number of customers feeding electricity back to Vertrieb GmbH. This situation prompted changes to planning assumptions. Measures were defined here in order to ensure improved forecast quality. The package of tasks ranged from adapting the product portfolio, through revising the procurement strategy and logic, to innovative, IT-based planning support applications.

Competition has increased significantly since the easing of the situation on the energy markets in the 2022/2023 fiscal year; this is not least reflected in the number of households switching providers throughout Austria. For electricity, but especially for gas, switching rates have slightly exceeded pre-crisis levels. Vertrieb GmbH has responded to the sharp drop in market prices with a new product for PV feed-in volumes that reflects the new market situation. Some 70.0% of customers accepted the offer to change their product to the new “Sonne Float” tariff. Price adjustments by Vertrieb GmbH for products in the households and commercial customer area were regularly evaluated on the basis of the appropriate principles (“relevant circumstances” pursuant to § 80 para 2a of the Electricity Industry and Organisation Act (ElWOG) for electricity, and on provisions in the General Terms and Conditions based on the Austrian Gas Price Index – ÖGPI for short – for gas). In April 2024 an offer was made to existing gas customers to switch to the new “Erdgas Loyal” (Natural Gas Loyalty) product, for which a discount was offered starting on 1 July 2024.

In the reporting period, the number of heating degree days, which define the temperature-related energy demand, was well below that of the comparable period in the previous year (-7.7%) in Upper Austria, and well below the average for the last five years (-13.0%).

Electricity sales volume

in GWh

Electricity

The consolidated electricity sales volume of Energie AG amounted to 5,580 GWh in the 2023/2024 fiscal year; this is equivalent to a decrease of 414 GWh or 6.9% compared with the previous year. Distribution in the Residential and Commercial Customers unit fell due to several factors. Besides the impact of the weather, the significant increase in PV feed-in volumes and the pronounced decline in average customer purchase volumes led to a lower overall sales volume. The past fiscal year in the Business and Industrial Customers unit was characterised by continuing volatility on the wholesale markets and a decline in sales due to the general economic situation. This effect was additionally noticeably amplified by a strong increase in PV feed-in volumes.

Gas sales volume

in GWh

Gas

At 4,235 GWh, the volume of gas sold by Energie AG in the past fiscal year was 583 GWh or 12.1% below the previous year’s figure of 4,818 GWh. Uncertainty caused by Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, the constant drive towards decarbonisation and the weak economy prompted a decline in sales volumes in the Business and Industrial Customers unit. In the 2023/2024 fiscal year, lower sales volumes were also noted for residential and commercial customers who mainly use space heating; this was attributable to the weather conditions. In addition to this, more customers switched to alternative heating systems and customer willingness to switch between different gas suppliers also rose sharply again.

Heat sales volume Austria

in GWh

Heat

The heat sales volume by Energie AG throughout Austria in the 2023/2024 fiscal year amounted to 1,076 GWh, which is a 2.2% increase on the previous year’s figure of 1,053 GWh. This was primarily attributable to higher sales volumes from CMOÖ GmbH. 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 individual customer solutions provided through on-site power purchase agreements.

Telecommunications

By the end of the 2023/2024 fiscal year, Energie AG had more than 21,198 active customers, using the products in question (previous year: 19,495). Despite the dynamic and challenging competitive environment, Energie AG was also able to convince more business customers of its product benefits.

Photovoltaics

In the area of PV contracting, Energie AG was operating 76 (previous year: 74) PV customer contracting systems with an output of around 12.6 MW_p (previous year: 12.3 MW_p) by the end of the 2023/2024 fiscal year. The largest PV contracting system with an output of some 6 MW_p for a well-known industrial customer was still under construction at the end of the fiscal year. Two complete PV bundles were on offer for private and commercial customers in the form of the “Solar Sorglos” and “Solar Sorglos Business” service products.

Electromobility

The focus of electromobility activities in the reporting period was on expanding the E-Mobility team, developing a product and service catalogue and the targeted expansion of charging infrastructure. By the end of the reporting period, Energie AG was operating 269 publicly accessible charging stations (previous year: 212) and managing operations at a total of 1,268 charging points (previous year: 904). By the end of the fiscal year, the Energie AG charging card, which can be used throughout Austria, was in use in 3,933 active contracts (previous year: 3,518), while more than 15,000 charging points which accepted the Energie AG charging card were available throughout Austria thanks to cooperations (previous year: 11,400).