Stadtwerke boss Weinelt: “No savings are being made in the energy sector”

DELIVERY MAN: You describe the municipal utilities as a climate protection company. In this light, what do you say about the end of the third runway at Vienna Airport?

Peter Weinelt: I can understand the argument about the massive increase in construction costs. However, the airport is very interested in ensuring that it flourishes and continues to grow. And if that is possible with the existing infrastructure, that would be a good option.

The federal government currently wants to reduce taxes on energy by 500 million euros and is tapping into reserves from Verbund & Co. Can individual households receive more than a mini-relief?

I don’t get involved in political discussions. As long as it is not clear how the 500 million euros will be passed on to customers, no serious statement can be made about the effect on individual households. It must be clear that in the medium term only investments in renewables and the networks will get us further.

They are affected by the new electricity market law from both sides via Wiener Energie and Wiener Netze. What outweighs the costs or benefits for you?

From both perspectives, I welcome the fact that the law has finally been passed after a long discussion – a modern legal framework for the electricity market was overdue. I can’t comment on details yet. What matters is that there is now legal certainty for the energy transition in Austria.

What can the municipal utilities contribute to reorganizing Vienna’s budget?

One is our 18,000 employees, which is two percent of the Vienna labor market. This is a huge contribution to the city’s economic prosperity. Also our 230 apprentices who start with us every year. In addition, there is our investment program of around nine billion euros across the entire group by 2030. This is divided roughly evenly between transport, energy and networks. This results in added value of around seven billion euros and very large tax revenue. I believe that overall this is the most sustainable contribution to budget restructuring. We are also delivering a higher dividend – around 60 million euros.

Is there a project like the Vienna subway that is being delayed if it doesn’t have to be canceled?

No, the investments are necessary. The subway construction is only being stretched, but not fundamentally questioned. The extension of time makes it possible to react to the renovation of the ÖBB’s main route, and it has the positive side effect of saving 20 million euros in operating costs. No savings are being made in the energy sector; that would jeopardize the energy transition.

Do you understand that many people find it strange that Frankhplatz is being built but not approached?

I can understand that this sounds a bit strange at first. Not finishing Frankhplatz would not have saved any costs. The construction site is now complete and the subway station will go into operation later. But above all we had to react to the ÖBB main route closure. The bottom line is that we don’t have mixed operations between the U2 and U5, but rather reliable operation of the U2.

What about hacker attacks on your company? You once said that the municipal utilities are attacked several times every second. Has it calmed down, is it becoming more and more?

When Wien Energie pulled out of the former Russian gas contracts, we were exposed to massive hacker attacks less than twelve hours later. These attacks no longer occur with this intensity, but there are still attempts to infiltrate our network.

What are you doing about it?

We have significantly expanded and bundled IT and security, creating an organization that works together across the municipal utilities. Vienna as a whole, as one of the most livable cities in the world, is also a popular target. Hackers are often interested in prestige “successes”.

Has the relationship with the federal government actually improved since the SPÖ became part of the government and Peter Hanke is now infrastructure minister?

The personal relationship is very good, across the entire federal government, of course also with Peter Hanke. Having previously been responsible for the municipal utilities, it is of course clear to him what public transport needs, for example. And that is a huge asset in his new role. The previous constant Vienna bashing didn’t help at all. People out there don’t want politicians who argue. People want solutions.

Vienna wants to be climate neutral by 2040. How far are we?

This is a question that sometimes bothers me well into the night. Yes, it is a huge, organizational effort. We are talking about an incredible number of individual projects, such as the recent acquisition of “Im Wind”, one of the largest wind power operators in the country. But if you want to have stable, affordable energy prices in the future, there is no way around expanding renewables. The year 2022 taught us that the hard way, with the seventeen-fold increase in the price of gas.

Can you now rule out a crisis like the one in 2022, when Wien Energie had one foot in the bank?

Such situations never repeat themselves 1:1. I can rule out a second one in 2022 because, firstly, we are completely out of Russian gas and have also set up risk management that only major banks or insurance companies have, which in turn have learned their lessons from the financial crisis.

Will energy become cheaper again in the future?

Without renewables, energy would become more expensive. With renewables we curb energy prices. All of our profits go towards the energy transition. Wien Energie alone invests around 500 million euros every year.

Is the gas supply secured for the winter? Are the memories full?

Viennese customers don’t have to worry. We have filled the gas storage tanks accordingly so that we will get through this winter well.

Final question: Why is the municipal utility actually needed as a parent company over the individual companies, which all have their management and their many employees?

The municipal utilities, with their approximately 400 employees, are not needed to operate the tram. But a holding company on top of that obviously has its advantages. We carry out tasks for the entire group; on the job market we are on a par with the big players such as ÖBB. And given our size, we also have a credit rating in the group that only the city of Vienna or the federal government has. This enables much cheaper financing for Wien Energie or Wiener Linien projects. So if you will: sometimes size matters.