Questions and Answers

In Austria, we are active in the areas of electricity production, trade and distribution. We operate the Austrian power grid via our independent subsidiary, APG. In Europe, we are active in power trading in around 20 countries, as well as also being involved in production and distribution via joint ventures in Italy and Turkey.

1988 saw the partial privatisation of the formerly state-owned Verbundgesellschaft: 51 % of VERBUND’s share capital is still owned by the Republic of Austria, since constitutional law stipulates that the majority share of the energy supplier must be publically-owned. Some 20 % of the shares are owned by diverse shareholders, the remaining shares are held by the Austrian provincial energy companies EVN and Wiener Stadtwerke, as well as TIWAG.

Regional energy companies, such as Salzburg AG, Energie AG, BEWAG, KELAG, etc. are not owned by VERBUND.

No, these companies are majority-owned by the respective provinces. Wiener Stadtwerke, EVN and TIWAG do, however, participate in VERBUND as shareholders.

VERBUND has plant locations in all provinces with the exception of Vorarlberg.

Yes, you may acquire VERBUND shares via authorised traders on the Vienna Stock Exchange. Information concerning VERBUND shares is available under: Investor Relations.

For the first half of 2010, considerably more than two-thirds of the jobs at VERBUND have been classified as “green jobs” in accordance with the EU definition.

When burned, fossil energy carriers - such as coal or oil - generate the carbon dioxide (CO2) which is harmful to the environment and which, among other things, leads to further global warming and many problems on Earth. In contrast, hydropower plants do not generate any CO2. And, unlike atomic power plants, there is no production of waste - the disposal of which will be a cause of concern for generations to come.

In the main, hydropower plants supply reliable electricity both consistently and without environmental emissions. In the case of modern power plant construction, interference in nature is reduced to a minimum today. Through comprehensive ecology projects such as fish ladders and reforestation or replanting, we additionally ensure that the balance is restored to the environment once more.

That our efforts don’t remain empty promises is demonstrated by the fact that a total of 30 % of the power plant surfaces in Austria are placed under a nature conservation order after (!) the construction of the sites. This amounts to a combined total of around 3,000 hectares.

Around two-thirds of the total volume of electricity generated in Austria results from the utilisation of the renewable energy source hydropower. Austria is therefore the No. 2 in Europe after Norway.

At present, only 5% of the power plants in Europe are certified. "In our capacity as European pioneer, all of our 124 hydropower plants – with which we generate more than four fifths of our electricity – have already had their certification for many years. We are generating electricity with a ‘pedigree’, as it were," stressed Anzengruber. In the coming months, VERBUND will also get its wind and thermal power plants certified.

VERBUND is able to transparently prove to all of its private customers that they have opted for 100 % hydropower electricity:

VERBUND supplies 100 % certified electricity from hydropower to its private and trade customers. This means: VERBUND guarantees its household and trade customers that precisely that amount of electricity consumed by them is also truly produced in TÜV-SÜD certified hydropower plants and fed into the public grid on their behalf.

No. In Austria, the development of rivers for electricity generation is already highly advanced. As the "land on the rivers", we benefit from the large proportion of clean electricity from hydropower. The level of development already amounts to two thirds in Austria. In the medium term, a development of some 5 % of the requirement is planned - and this in accordance with the strict stipulations of domestic environmental laws. Through modernisation and environmentally friendly expansion, considerably more electricity can – in part – be generated from existing hydropower plants, which is why increased efficiency takes priority over the construction of new plants.

We generate more than 40 % of the electricity consumed in Austria. Some four fifths of our own production, out of a total of almost 30 billion kWh, comes from hydropower. Austria therewith ranks at number two for hydropower in Europe, behind Norway.

In addition to Germany, Italy and Turkey also count among the core markets outside Austria.

In Germany, we have had ownership of 13 power plants on Bavaria’s River Inn since 2009. In the form of Sorgenia in Italy and EnerjiSA in Turkey, we have two strong joint ventures with which we are contributing to the future of energy in Europe.

In our capacity as market leader in Austria, we also employ our know-how gainfully abroad because only a profitable company is valuable for its employees, owner and society.

It is for this reason that we also put the focus on long-term revenue and not short-term profit maximisation. Sustained economic activity also includes commitment in Europe, since it secures our long-term competitiveness in a merging European electricity market.

In Europe, 1 kWh of electricity changes hands (power trader) an average of four times before reaching the consumer. Power trading is of central importance for those electricity companies with a high degree of own production, such as VERBUND. Through trading, we are already able to sell part of our electricity production months in advance and thus make long-term plans for the financing of investments – e.g. new power plants.

No. Like other electricity companies in Austria, VERBUND purchases electricity on the stock exchange. Just where this electricity comes from – whether, for example, it originates from a wind farm in the North Sea or from a nuclear power plant in Bavaria – is not known to the power traders (also because just 5 % of the electricity generated in Europe is certified or - in other words - labelled). Therefore, this product is referred to as electricity of unknown origin. On the one hand, this "grey electricity" is thus electricity from nuclear and coal-fired power plants, but - on the other hand - also from wind farms, photovoltaic and pumped storage power plants, for example.

No. This would mean that VERBUND knowingly buys electricity from the operators of nuclear power plants. However, VERBUND purchases electricity via the energy exchanges, where it is not known from where the electricity originates (please refer to "Does VERBUND deal in nuclear power?").

Nevertheless, this question has another catch: In terms of figures, a small percentage of electricity will originate from nuclear power for as long as just one single nuclear power plant is in operation on mainland Europe. Since Continental Europe is completely integrated, the electricity from one country reaches the power grid of another one. In reality, Austria will only have no more nuclear power if the lines are closed off or nuclear power plants are no longer in operation in Europe.
Or each power plant is certified so that electricity traders know whether they are buying electricity from nuclear power plants, coal-fired power plants or wind farms. In our capacity as VERBUND, we are campaigning for this on a European level.

Based on different estimates, the share of nuclear power in Austria lies between 5 and 15%. Imported electricity normally comes in the form of a mix that also contains nuclear power. 100% of the electricity VERBUND supplies to its private household customers is generated from hydropower – the share of nuclear power is zero.

No. That part of the water that is pumped into the reservoir is not included in the generation from natural inflow through streams and rainfall. This is simply possible because we know how much water we have pumped. Electricity generated via pumped water is referred to as electricity of unknown origin, in other words “grey electricity”.
This is the case even if we know that the majority of electricity generated from pumping originates from renewable sources, particularly wind farms. Electricity generation from wind farms is especially productive in periods of low electricity consumption (e.g. during the night). However, it is not correct to state that this is how electricity is transformed into clean hydroelectricity.
Incidentally, adherence to this regulation is checked annually – and very precisely - by the technical inspection agency, TÜV-Süd.

The term "green battery" refers to several pumped storage power plants, which use water as a storage medium for surplus electricity. In contrast to other storage technologies, temporary storage is therewith carried out in an energy-efficient, risk-free and environmentally friendly manner. The energy is available as needed for the balancing of fluctuations in consumption and production.

Yes, the VERBUND power plants can be visited at selected locations. Visitors' Centres have been set up in Freudenau (Vienna) as well as at the locations of our storage power plants in the Malta Valley and Kaprun. Tours can be booked at other locations.

VERBUND takes a positive view of the technological advances in the area of electricity metering. The mechanical electricity meters currently being used (Ferraris meters), which have to be manually read in Austrian households once a year, could, in future, be replaced with intelligent meters.

The so-called "smart meter" records electricity consumption in digital format. The new meters have a wide range of useful additional functions. Customers stand to benefit from the multi-tariff function, interfaces for external devices and lots more. In future, prompt information on individual electricity consumption will be available for the first time. New, consumption-based tariff models can be offered thus leading to savings. The process of changing suppliers should also be easier and faster in future due to the improved availability of customer data.

Our mission is to provide forward-looking energy solutions for responsible people. We therefore focus strongly on innovation, research and development. By developing new electricity applications, we aim to increase the share of electricity – above all, from renewable sources – in the total energy mix.

Our priorities, apart from the development of new electricity generation methods – e.g. for sensitive waters – include the efficiency themes electric mobility and energy management. We actively participate in the electricity revolution in transport and support the introduction of electric vehicles.