Romande Énergie is a Swiss energy production, distribution, and marketing company, also active in energy services. Its head office is in Morges, in the canton of Vaud.
The Romande Énergie Group is the result of the 1997 merger of two century-old companies, Société romande d'électricité (SRE), founded in 1904, and Compagnie vaudoise d'électricité (CVE), founded in 1954 and with its origins in Compagnie vaudoise des Forces motrices des lacs de Joux et de l'Orbe, founded in 1901. In 2017, it supplied 2.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year directly to more than 300,000 private, business, and municipal end customers in French-speaking Switzerland, via its company Romande Énergie Commerce SA. In 2013, it generated 17% of its needs, or 574 million kilowatt-hours per year, exclusively from renewable energies, thanks to its 13 hydroelectric facilities, 9 small hydroelectric facilities, 44 solar photovoltaic facilities and Enerbois, the largest biomass power plant in French-speaking Switzerland. It is an active member of the .
The Group is made up of a number of companies, a list of which are directly or indirectly owned by Romande Énergie Holding SA, the holding company listed on the Swiss stock exchange (SIX-Swiss Exchange). In 2014 Romande Énergie Holding SA's largest shareholders were the canton of Vaud and the communes of Vaud.
History
Société électrique Vevey-Montreux SA (SEVM)
In 1878, Adolphe Dupraz and Henri Chaudet first applied to the canton for a concession to operate the , a stream that flows from the Rochers de Naye to the town of Montreux. The two entrepreneurs wanted to create an electric tramway line between Vevey and Montreux. The line, initially linking Vevey to Chillon and inaugurated on 4 June 1888, would later become the Vevey-Montreux-Chillon-Villeneuve (VMCV).
To power the line, the first power plant was built at Taulan, above Montreux. It was operated by Société électrique Vevey-Montreux SA, also founded in 1886. The following year, the plant produced enough power to install public lighting in the towns of Vevey and Montreux.
In 1888, the Grand Hôtel in Territet became the first public building in French-speaking Switzerland (and the second in the country) to be lit entirely by electricity. Barely two years later, growing demand prompted SEVM to build a new power station near the hamlet of Sonzier, also supplied by the Baye de Montreux, which was diverted into a new reservoir developed for the occasion. In 1898, the SEVM commissioned the .
Meanwhile, a second electric company was founded in Aigle in 1895, the Société des forces motrices de la Grande-Eau (SFMGE), which, as its name suggests, used in particular the waters of the Grande Eau. In 1901, the SFMGE created the Vouvry plant, which used water from Lac de Taney.
Initially competing with each other, the two companies merged on 3 January 1904, to become Société romande d'électricité, a mixed company whose capital of 4.2 million francs was mostly privately owned (including, in particular, industrialist James Edouard Aguet). The new company quickly launched several projects, including the creation of a new plant in Aigle (the future Les Farettes plant) and improvements to those in Vouvry and Taulan.
Forces motrices des lacs de Joux et de l'Orbe On 22 May 1901, the Grand Council of the canton of Vaud issued a decree establishing the Compagnie vaudoisedes Forces motrices des lacs de Joux et de l'Orbe (FMJ, colloquially known as "Compagnie de Joux" or "Forces de Joux") with the dual aim of regulating the water levels of Lac de Joux, Lac Brenet and the Orbe, and using these reservoirs to generate and distribute electricity. Two years later, the La Dernier plant was commissioned, followed in 1908 by the Montcherand-sur-Orbe plant. Between them, these plants distributed up to 45 million kWh in 1928 over a large part of Vaud and even part of the canton of Neuchâtel.
Faced with insufficient rainfall during the winter of 1942, the military department imposed restrictions on electricity consumption. The company decided to build a new pumping station to artificially transfer water from Lac de Joux to Lac Brenet, to ensure that the hydraulic plants between the two lakes could operate continuously.
On 28 June 1954, the company was renamed Compagnie vaudoise d'électricité (CVE). Following this name change, the Grand Council renewed the concession for 80 years and added a concession for a new power plant. This new plant, built underground below Lignerolle, was powered by a new dam at Le Day; it was to be known as the Les Clées plant and replaced an earlier plant, commissioned in 1896, which was finally abandoned in 1955.
Creation of Romande Énergie As early as 1917, discussions began between the two main electricity production companies in the canton of Vaud (Société romande d'électricité and Compagnie de Joux) to merge the two entities. This first attempt failed a year later when SRE withdrew from the project. In 1919, however, the two companies found themselves both shareholders in the new , created "to ensure the rational and intensive use of the region's hydraulic forces" at the instigation of Jean Landry (who presided over the company from its inception until 1940).
In 1993, SRE was faced with major financial difficulties following real estate transactions linked to one of its subsidiaries (Taulan SA). CVE became the majority shareholder on 14 October, and a process of rapprochement gradually began between the two companies, under the name of the "CVE-SRE Group". As a result of this process, on 24 June 1997, the shareholders of both companies decided to merge under the name of "Romande Énergie SA", with CVE becoming the group's umbrella company; in 2006, it changed its name to Romande Énergie Holding. At the time of the merger, 40% of the new group's capital was held by the canton of Vaud, 30% by the communes of Vaud, and 30% by private shareholders, by the 1951 decree setting out the shares vested in the public authorities.
In 2008, the company divested itself of its public transport activities, with the Vevey-Montreux-Chillon-Villeneuve network now operated by a specially-created public limited company under the same name, whose capital is held by the communes served, the latter transferring their shares in SEVM to the parent company.
Structure
Organization and shareholdings
The Romande Énergie Group is headed by Romande Énergie Holding SA (formerly Compagnie vaudoise d'électricité), which owns 100% of Romande Énergie SA (formerly Société romande d'électricité), which "is responsible for all electricity production and distribution activities". The umbrella company also oversees two other companies, Romande Énergie Commerce SA (in charge of electricity sales) and Romande Énergie Services SA (in charge of energy services). Finally, the Group has a centralized internal organization managed by business units (networks and energy) and departments (human resources, finance, communications, and general secretariat).
From 1997 to 1999, the Group was managed by Paul-Daniel Panchaud, until 2004 by Claude Chabanel, and since 1 July 2004 by Pierre-Alain Urech.
On 31 December 2017, the Group held majority stakes (over 50%) in the following companies:
Romande Énergie Commerce SA; Brent Énergie SA and Eoliennes de Provence SA (for Romande Énergie SA); Romande Énergie France SAS, Meyronnes SAS, REF Eolien SAS, Effitec SA, Énergie Renouvelable de l'Avançon SA and Bas-Valais Énergie SA (for Romande Énergie Holding SA); Neuhaus Énergie SA, PolyTech SA and PolyForce SA (for Romande Énergie Services SA).
It also holds minority stakes in thirty other companies in the energy sector.
Shareholding On 31 December 2017, Romande Énergie Holding SA's ordinary share capital consisted of 1,140,000 fully paid-up registered shares with a par value of CHF 25 each. At the same date, the main shareholders were as follows: +ActionnairesParticipationCanton de Vaud38.60%Communes vaudoises16.22%Banque cantonale vaudoise3.05%Groupe Romande Energie9.54%Groupe E6.07%Credit Suisse Fondation de placement SA3.60%Holdigaz2.52% Around 20% of the share capital is open to investors. The share is listed on the Swiss Market Index (symbol REHN, ISIN CH1263676327).
An agreement signed in September 2005 between the canton, the communes, and Banque Cantonale Vaudoise provides for a reciprocal right of first refusal in the event of the sale of shares held by one or other of these parties, who between them hold the majority of the shares. The main aim of this agreement is "to keep the majority of the company's shares in public hands, and thus consolidate its position in the French-speaking part of Switzerland's electricity market".
Activities
Electricity generation In 2017, the Group generated 12.9% of its electricity needs, with 510 million kWh per year from renewable energies (solar, hydro, wind and biomass). Various projects to increase this share are under consideration, such as the development of wind power and geothermal energy, as well as the acquisition of stakes in natural gas-fired power plants. The latter option, which "could [...] be essential to ensure the country's supply during a transitional period", was put on hold following the presentation of the interim balance sheet in September 2014.
The Group also purchases electricity from other generating companies, including Alpiq. The development of new renewable energy production sites is based on partnerships with companies and municipalities that make their sites or roofs available to Romande Énergie, which finances, builds, and manages the production facility.
Electricity distribution In 2017, Romande Énergie's network comprised 45 substations, 3,100 transformer stations, and 10,000 km of power lines, 85% of which are underground.
Romande Énergie is one of the founders of the Smart grid Suisse association, whose aim is to "facilitate and lead the introduction" of smart grids in Switzerland.
Electricity sales Through its company Romande Énergie Commerce (whose shareholders, in addition to the Romande ÉnergieGroup, are SIE SA (service intercommunal de l'électricité, based in Renens), Bas-Valais Énergie SA, Bussigny-près-Lausanne, Pully, Romanel-sur-Lausanne, Belmont-sur-Lausanne and Paudex and, later, Forces motrices de l'Avançon), the Group sells 2.5 billion kWh (2017) of electricity to more than 300,000 end customers in nearly 300 communes in the cantons of Vaud, Valais, Fribourg and Geneva, but also, since the opening of the electricity market for large customers in 2009 throughout Switzerland.
In December 2013, the Group introduced a new type of electricity supply contract (called "Contrats Énergies Libres") which, among other things, makes it possible to identify and guarantee the provenance and geographical origin of the electricity fed into the grid; In 2018, the products offered are entitled "Terre suisse" (100% Swiss-sourced energy, containing 100% hydropower), "Terre romande" (100% French-speaking Swiss-sourced energy certified as 100% hydropower), "Terre d'Ici" (100% renewable energy with 50% hydropower and 50% locally-produced solar power) and "Standard" (100% Swiss-sourced energy with no guarantee of the means of production). When this contract was introduced, the Fédération romande des consommateurs (French-speaking consumers' federation) received complaints from "numerous consumers" who did not accept the use of an "opt-out" system in which customers who did not make themselves known could see "their contract modified towards a more expensive offer than the standard tariff".
Production sites As of March 2018, Romande Énergie owns 111 energy production sites:
65 solar farms; 33 hydropower plants; 9 district heating plants; 2 biomass plants: one for dry biomass (Enerbois plant in Rueyres) and one for fermentable biomass (Agrogaz plant in Lignerolle); 2 wind farms (in France).
Hydroelectric power stations