Record hydro production

With 747 GWh of power from 17 hydro plants in Graubünden, Repower's record in Switzerland in 2014 was impressive. But the picture is much less rosy when you consider the low energy prices that have undermined the profitability of hydropower.

Trading

Energy trading is the hub connecting the company's generation and sales operations with the market. The Group's entire trading operations in various commodities such as electricity, gas, carbon certificates and certificates of origin come together in Poschiavo, from where Repower trades on the Central and Northwest European (CWE/NWE) markets. The focus is on asset-based trading, designed to optimise management of the company's own portfolio of assets. In addition to power plants and transmission capacity, this includes supply contracts and the end-customer business. Given an environment of such narrow margins, 2014 CWE/NWE trading results can be described as very good, with particularly positive contributions from the origination business and proprietary trading.

Repower continued to expand its trading-related services during the year under review. The company supplies balance group management services and wholesale market access (see box) to various Swiss energy providers. The gratifying way this business has developed illustrates how Repower's cooperation strategy, initiated three or so years ago with the launch of production investment company Repartner, is no longer limited to generation, but is increasingly bearing fruit at the interfaces between generation, trading and sales.

The Trading team in Poschiavo achieved an extremely pleasing success in August 2014, with Swiss Federal Railways (SBB/CFF/FSS) awarding Repower a contract to develop a power plant optimisation tool. Repower won the tender in the face of competition from some well-known names. Now the company is developing specific software that will enable SBB to manage deployment of a complex energy system spanning its own power generation assets, interests, long-term agreements, transmission lines and transformers more efficiently. The partnership also extends to services related to wholesale market access and market information. Repower's success in this tender underscores the company's recognised know-how, especially in cases like this where a knowledge of IT has to be combined with market and trading expertise and in-depth technical knowledge of grids and generation.

Repower's trading services at a glance

Balance group management: Energy providers and industrial customers that outsource their balance group management to Repower become part of Repower's balance group. This means they reap the full benefits of synergies and overlaps with Repower's know-how and its trading infrastructure, and have complete transparency and tracea-bility.

Market information: Repower supplies energy providers with the latest market information on a daily basis, with a customised visualisation of the key price drivers on the Swiss and German energy markets and commentaries from professional traders.

Market access: Repower gives energy providers and large customers access to the wholesale market (the forward, spot, intraday and ancillary services market). Customers gain greater flexibility, can dispense with their own systems, and deal with a single counterparty, Repower.

Repricer: Repricer is a straightforward web-based pricing and procurement platform that energy providers and industrial customers can use to generate a quote on the basis of current market prices and close the deal immediately if it meets requirements: www.repower.com/repricer.

Structured procurement: Repower supports energy providers and large customers with procuring and selling electricity. This involves analysing the opportunities and risks and creating and implementing a hedging strategy on the basis of the customer's risk parameters.