EVN Chronology 1922 - 2008    

1922
Founding of NEWAG, Niederösterreichischen Elektrizitätswirtschafts AG, with the goal of developing a electricity supply in all regions of Lower Austria

1922
NEWAG supplies electricity to 196 municipalities, approx. one-fifth of Lower Austria. At the end of 1924, NEWAG provides electricity to 603 municipalities, about one-third of Lower Austria

Around 1930:
regional electricity systems grow together, extensive network operations

1933 
NEWAG provides electricity to 900 municipalities

1938
Annexation of Austria, occupation by German soldiers, National Socialist takeover of power

1938/1939
NEWAG/Gauwerke Niederdonau strives to take over all electricity companies

1939 - 1945  World War II

1944
Natural gas fired steam power station in Neusiedl an der Zaya, first natural gas and steam power plant in Austria, state-of-the-art boiler technology (shut down in 1974)

1947
NEWAG supplies electricity to 1,800 communities

1947
Second Nationalisation Law, leading to takeover of most independent utility companies in Lower Austria by NEWAG

1954
Founding of NIOGAS, the Lower Austrian natural gas supply company Niederösterreichische Gasvertriebs-GmbH, by the Federal Province of Lower Austria and NEWAG (public limited company as of 1956: Niederösterreichische Gasvertriebs AG)

1955  Austrian State Treaty, end of occupation by Allied forces
 
1957

NEWAG’s storage power station in Ottenstein, completion of chain of power stations on the Kamp River

1958
Treaty of Rome takes effect on January 1, 1958: European Economic Community begins with six founding members (Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg)

1958
NEWAG is the first European utility to use an IT-based punch card facility, namely the IBM Type 650, in order to automate calculation processes (customers, personnel, materials, construction, cost allocation)

1958
Gas turbine block at the power plant in Neusiedl an der Zaya (shut down in 1982)

1959
NEWAG oil and gas power plant in Korneuburg: innovative use of waste heat from the gas turbines to generate steam (waste heat recovery boiler), jointly operated together with Verbund Gesellschaft

1961
NIOGAS District heating power plant in Mödling – expansion into district heating business

1962
Founding of NÖSIWAG – Niederösterreichische Siedlungswasserbau GmbH – by the Federal Province of Lower Austria, initially (1962-1965) with a 49 % shareholding acquired by NEWAG. The underlying reason for establishing NÖSIWAG was the extremely unfavourable drinking water situation in the northern Weinviertel region of Lower Austria

1963
Construction begins on the 1st high level service tank of NÖSIWAG, in Friebritz in the Laaer basin

1963
NEWAG Light Festival in Harmannschlag on August 24 – 100 % of housing areas in Lower Austria have electricity

1968
Appointment of Rudolf Gruber as Chairman of NEWAG and NIOGAS, restructuring of the company

1968
Natural gas imports: 1st natural gas delivery contract concluded with the Soviet Union

Since the 1970s:  expansion of Lower Austria gas distribution network in terms of area covered and provision of natural gas to rural households (not only industrial sites)

1971
Joint load dispatching centre of NEWAG and NIOGAS, optimised primary energy use

1978
50.4 % say “No“ to Zwentendorf: national referendum on November 5, 1978 in respect to atomic energy. Start-up of the completed Zwentendorf nuclear power station is blocked by the “Anti-Nuclear Law” forbidding power generation from nuclear fission.

1978
End of construction on the thermal power plant in Theiß (natural gas, oil) –backbone of NEWAG’s electricity production

1986
End of construction on the thermal power station in Dürnrohr (coal, natural gas)

1986
Fusion of NEWAG and NIOGAS to form NEWAG NIOGAS AG

1987
New name for the company: EVN Energie-Versorgung Niederösterreich AG, based on the corporate slogan “Use energy responsibly” (Energie Vernünftig Nutzen)

1987
NÖSIWAG supplies 386 cadastral communes with drinking water (for about 260,000 inhabitants)

1989
Fall of the “Iron Curtain“, opening of borders in the north and east of Lower Austria

1989/90
Privatisation of 49 % of the company’s share capital via the Vienna Stock Exchange

1995  Austria joins the European Union

1995
Founding of evn sammlung (evn collection) of contemporary international art

1997  EU Electricity Directive

1998
EnergieAllianz (energy partnership) of EVN and Wiener Stadtwerke Holding, by 2002 also including ESG/Linz AG, BEWAG and BEGAS, ENERGIE AG

1999
EVN AG – new umbrella brand name for the EVN Group, shortened corporate name encompasses business operations above and beyond supply of energy (electricity, gas, heat), including drinking water supply, waste incineration AVN, telecommunications, technical services etc.

2001  EVN acquires NÖSIWAG (evn wasser).

2001  Full-scale liberalisation of Austria’s electricity market on October 1,

2002  Full-scale liberalization of the Austrian gas market on October 1,

2003
EconGas, jointly founded by the natural gas wholesale company EconGas of OMV (50 %), EVN (15.7 %) and other provincial gas suppliers aimed at international natural gas sourcing, trading and business with large customers
 
2003  EVN acquires WTE, water supply and wastewater services

2003  wavenet (nökom), broadband Internet using radio for rural areas 

2004 
AVN waste incineration plant in Dürnrohr commences operations

2004
Expansion to Bulgaria: EVN assumes a 67 % shareholding in the electricity distribution companies supplying power to the Plovdiv and Stara Zagora regions: 1.5 million customers

2005
Burkhard Hofer appointed the new Spokesman of the EVN Executive Board, and CEO in 2008

2005
Expansion to Macedonia: EVN acquires a 90 % stake in ESM AD Elektrostopanstvo na Makedonija, closing in March 2006

2005
10 years evn collection, “After Rokytník“ exhibition in MUMOK (Museum of Modern Art) in Vienna

2005
Reorganisation of the EVN Group creating five strategic business units and 12 Group functions

2006
Legal unbundling of power generation/sourcing and networks: EVN AG and EVN Netz GmbH

2006
KEZ “Klienzky Electrozentar“ – Reorganisation of EVN in Bulgaria in 37 KEZ customer centres in line with the Lower Austrian model

2006
Opening of the biomass-fired combined cycle heat and power plants in Baden and Mödling

2006
Ground-breaking ceremony for the coal-fired power plant in Duisburg-Walsum, joint venture of EVN and STEAG

2006
33 new windmills in three wind parks (Obritzberg/Statzendorf, Kettlasbrunn, Japons)

2007
WTE wins a contract to build the large Ataköy wastewater treatment plant for two million inhabitants in Istanbul

2007
AVN completion of the 3rd waste incineration line in Moscow (begin February 2005, takeover by municipal authorities on September 27, 2007)

2007
District heating storage facility at the Theiß thermal power station commences operations on January 11, 2008
 
2007
evn wasser: 30 kilometre long drinking water pipeline “Nordschiene“ connecting Mollersberg/Tulln and Korneuburg links two supply areas and improves water quality

2007
Construction begins on 31 kilometre long district heating pipeline Dürnrohr-St. Pölten. EVN will supply two-thirds of the district heat required by the Lower Austrian capital city of St. Pölten from its power plant facilities in Dürnrohr/Zwentendorf starting in the 2009/10 heating season.

2007
AVN Dürnrohr: construction commences on third waste incineration line, capacity rises from 300,000 to 500,000 tonnes annually

2007
Acquisition of the Bulgarian district heating company TEZ Toplofikaciya Plovdiv (purchase price: EUR 32.1m, closing on December 14, 2007; 40,000 customers, total capacity of 1,259 MW thermal power, 85 MW electrical power, 360 employees)

2008
Capital increase of EVN AG from EUR 99.069m to EUR 300m, share split at a ratio of 4 for 1, share capital consists of 163,525,820 zero par value bearer shares (resolution of the 79th Annual General Meeting held on January 17, 2008, effective April 17, 2008)

2008
Macedonian subsidiary renamed EVN Macedonia on September 17, 2008

2008
Expansion to Albania 1: concession agreement for the Ashta hydroelectric power plant on the Drin River south of Shkoder signed on September 30,
2008, first foreign joint venture with Verbundgesellschaft, under its industrial management, EVN and Verbundgesellschaft each own a 50 % stake, planned investment volume of EUR 160m (installed capacity of 48 MW /annual generation of 230 GWh)

2008
The EVN subsidiary Kabelsignal AG acquires the two Burgenland companies B.net Burgenland Telekom GmbH and Dataservice GmbH (cable TV, broadband Internet and telephony) from BEWAG

2008
Expansion to Albania 2: concession agreement for three hydropower storage plants on the Devoll River, 50:50 joint venture of EVN with the Norwegian company Statkraft, planned investment volume of EUR 950m (installed capacity of 340 MW / annual output of 1,000 GWh).

EVN Archive, evn.archiv@evn.at