The story
Austrian Empire
In 1892 the planning of the first steam power plant in St. Wolfgang with 25 PS (18 kW) marked the beginning of public electricity production in the Salzkammergut region (Upper Austria, Salzburg and Styria).
About ten years later the transportation conglomerate Stern & Hafferl build the first large scale hydro power plant of Upper Austria, this being the Traunfall hydro electric plant. In 1905 Stern and Hafferl established the Elektrizitätswerke Stern & Hafferl AG abbr. EW (trans. Electrical Plants Stern and Hafferl Corp.) as a subsidiary, consolidating the power plant operations from their other railway subsidiaries. Four years later in 1909 the Upper Austrian state government decided that the state of Upper Austria should have a share in the EW.
First Republic
The end of the First World War and the following collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918 marked a fundamental reorientation of the Austrian energy sector. Later developments lead to the formation of the Oberösterreichische Wasserkraft- und Elektrizitäts-AG abbr. OWEAG (trans. Upper Austrian Hydropower and Electric Corp.) In 1924 construction of the first 110 kV line in Austria was started, linking the Pumped-storage hydroelectricity plant Partebstein to the central region of Linz and Steyr. Following long negotiations the Stern and Haffel owned EW and the later formed OWEAG merged, forming the Österreichische Kraftwerke AG abbr. ÖKA (trans. Austrian Powerplant Corporation). The new corporation owned 12 hydropower plants as well as two coal fired power plants generating a net output power of 85 MW supplying some 3,250 kilometres (2,020 mi) of distribution lines.
During nazi occupation
After nazi germany annexed austria in 1938 they started to ban Austrian national identity in fear of separatism. As a result of this the name Austria was not allowed to be used anymore and thus the name of the ÖKA (trans. Austrian Powerplant Corporation) was changed to KOA for Kraftwerke Oberdonau AG (trans. Powerplants Upper Danube Province). During the second world war electricity production was continued up to the very end of the war, only being interrupted by severe war damage to the power plants and later a drop in demand as the power grid dissolved under bombing of allied forces.
Developments following the Second World War
After the Second World War emergency measures were set into place to rebuild the power grid. 1947 the name was changed back to ÖKA, leaving this dark capital of history behind. Under the Second Nationalisation Act of 1947, ÖKA became the regional energy provider for the state of Upper Austria. The name was later changed to Oberösterreichische Kraftwerke AG abbr. OKA (trans. Upper Austrian Powerplant Corporation)
Time of economic recovery
In 1964 the new office building of the general management located at Böhmerwaldstreed in Linz was completed. Three years later the construction of the hydro plant Riedersbach was started, this being the largest ever single financial investment of the OKA up to this point.
By acquiring parts of the Welser Abfallverwertungsgesellschaft m.b.H. abbr. WAV (trans. Welser Waste Recycling Company) in 1989 the OKA entered the business of waste and waste water disposal. In the same year OKA first synchronised the solar power plant Loser to the grid, marking the first use of solar power generation in its grid. 1991 marked the formation of the Abfall-, Verwertung-, Entsorgungsgesellschaft m.b.H. abbr. AVE (trans. Waste, Recycling and Disposal Company). Following major restructuring in 1999 the OKA was renamed to Enegie AG Oberösterreich (trans. Energy Corporation Upper Austria)
Developments since 2000
Since 2000, the company has increasingly expanded into the waste management and water management sectors. Under pressure of the European Union, Austria had entered six prior, the electricity market of Austria was liberalised in 2001, also affecting the operations of Energie AG. In 2004 the Wärme Oberösterreich G.m.b.H. (trans.Thermal Upper Austria) was formed, consolidating the district heating operations from other branches of the group. A year later in 2005 approval was granted for the construction of the new 400 WM combined-cycle gas turbine power plant in Timelkam. The following year in 2006 Energie AG rose to be upper austria's largest infrastructure provider. The energy (electricity, heating and gas), waste management and water sectors became the company's main pillars. Its market areas now encompassed Austria, southern Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and the neighbouring Central European countries.
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In 2008, the group moved into its new headquarters, the Power Tower on Böhmerwaldstraße in Linz. In the same year, the 400 MW combined cycle gas turbine power plant in Timelkam was synchronized to the grid for the first time. The Group continued to grow with its entry into the Italian (waste management) and Slovenian (water) markets in 2009. In 2013, the waste management division’s operations in Eastern Europe were sold. In 2015, implementation of the Power Strategy 2020 began.
Leo Windtner, the group's longest-serving CEO, left the company in 2017 after 22 years in the role. His successor, Werner Steinecker, retired at the end of 2022. Leonhard Schitter has been serving as the group’s CEO since 1 January 2023.
Ownership structure
Since 19 December 2023
OÖ Landesholding: 52.71 %
Raiffeisenlandesbank OÖ: 13.98 %
Linz AG: 10.36 %
TIWAG: 8.28 %
Verbund AG: 5.20 %
Oberbank AG (Konsortium): 5.18 %
voestalpine: 2.07 %
OÖ Landesbank AG: 1.04 %
Sparkasse Oberösterreich Bank AG: 0.52 %
OÖ Versicherung AG: 0.52 %
Land Oberösterreich: 0.10 %
Energie AG Oberösterreich: 0.04 %
Investments
Energie AG holds stakes in several companies, including Ennskraftwerke AG (50 %), BBOÖ Breitband Oberösterreich GmbH (50 %), Wels Strom GmbH (49 %), and Salzburg AG (26.13 %).
Executive Board
Leonhard Schitter, CEO
Eva Schinkinger, CFO
Alexander Kirchner, CTO
From Wikipedia’s article on Energie AG Oberösterreich, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5