LEAG (company)

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LEAG

logo
legal form Corporation
founding October 12, 2016
Seat Cottbus , Brandenburg
management Helmar Rendez ( CEO )
Number of employees 7,839 (including 706 trainees)
Branch power supply
Website www.leag.de

LEAG is the joint brand of Lausitz Energie Verwaltungs GmbH , Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG (short LE-B ) and Lausitz Energie Kraftwerke AG (short LE-K ). The companies based in Cottbus together form the second largest German electricity producer . LEAG was created in 2016 through the sale of the Lausitz open - cast lignite mines and power plants of the Swedish energy group Vattenfall AB to the Czech EPH group and its financial partner PPF Investments . The power generation and mining company MIBRAG, based in Saxony-Anhalt, is already part of the EPH .

General

The companies of the LEAG Group are legally independent companies in a group of companies. The LE-B (including subsidiaries ) and LE-K (including KSP GmbH ) are represented by Lausitz Energie Verwaltungs GmbH ( LEV for short ), which each has an 80% stake in both companies. In its function as a holding company, LEV employs twenty people and takes on special tasks such as accounting and taxation. LEV is 100% owned by LEAG Holding as , headquartered in Prague, half of which are held by EPH and PPF.

The LEAG companies are active in the fields of mining, power plants and sales. The lignite obtained in the mining industry is used to supply the large power plants operated in the LEAG power plant area. In addition, it is used for refinement at the Schwarze Pump location in the Schwarze Pump briquette factory, which is part of sales . In the power plant and sales business, the electricity generated is sold on the futures and spot markets .

history

LEAG was created through the sale of the lignite division and the associated power plants of the Swedish energy group Vattenfall AB . The German locations of the lignite companies Vattenfall Europe Mining AG and Vattenfall Europe Generation AG were sold to the Czech energy supplier Energetický a Průmyslový Holding (EPH) and the investment company PPF Investments . Both companies each have a 50% stake in the new company.

Until 2002

Power plant division

In the GDR operated coal plants were after turning up to the negotiations on the so-called current contracts in 1990 by the United Kraftwerke AG (formed from the eastern German lignite Kombinate ) managed. In the course of the merger to form Verbundunternehmen, the United Energiewerke AG (VEAG) was founded by the Treuhandanstalt . In 1991, the East German coal-fired power plants and the network were combined in this new company.

In 1994 VEAG was sold to a consortium of the seven largest West German energy suppliers for four billion DM. The consortium consisted of Preussen-Elektra AG , RWE , Bayernwerk AG (a total of 75% of the shares) and the EBH Holding , a merger of BEWAG , VEW, Badenwerk , EVS and HEW (a total of 25% of the shares).

When Preussen Elektra AG ( VEBA ) and Bayernwerk AG ( VIAG ) merged to form today's E.ON and the merger of RWE and VEW, the main shareholders had to part with the VEAG stakes due to antitrust problems. In 2001, HEW, which had already become the property of Vattenfall in 2000 , acquired the entire shares in VEAG.

Lignite mining

The GDR's lignite opencast mines were attached to various combines . With the end of the GDR, the Lausitzer Braunkohle AG (LAUBAG) was created in 1990 from the privatization of the BKK Senftenberg . In 1993 LAUBAG merged with VEB Gaskombinat Schwarze Pump (from 1990 Energiewerke Schwarze Pump Aktiengesellschaft ). In 1994 the company was sold by the Treuhandanstalt to a West German consortium of companies. The main shareholders were Rheinbraun AG (39.5%) and Preussen Elektra AG (30%). The handling of the contaminated sites was handed over to the LBV (later LMBV ).

The shares in Rheinbraun AG and Preussen Elektra AG were assigned due to the merger. The shares were taken over by HEW in 2001.

From 2002 to 2016

After HEW / Vattenfall took over the three companies VEAG, LAUBAG and BEWAG (Berlin) in 2001, all companies were transferred to a new company with a uniform brand at the beginning of 2002. The Vattenfall Europe AG was established and was then the third largest energy supplier in Germany. The opencast mining activities traded under Vattenfall Europe Mining AG , the power plant activities under Vattenfall Europe Generation AG . In 2012, the legal form of the holding company in Germany changed to Vattenfall GmbH .

As of 2016

The Swedish energy company Vattenfall announced at the end of 2014 that it wanted to sell its lignite activities in Germany. In the subsequent bidding process, u. a. the environmental organization Greenpeace . After completion of the bidding phase, Vattenfall negotiated with the two remaining interested parties EPH / PPF and the Czech Czech Coal Group. In April 2016, EPH and PPF prevailed against their competitors. Subsequent delays in the examination of the sale by the EU Commission for possible antitrust issues delayed the deal until autumn 2016. The name and the new logo of the company were published at a press conference on October 11, 2016. The commercial register entry of the renaming of the companies Vattenfall Europe Mining AG to Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG and Vattenfall Europe Generation AG to Lausitz Energie Kraftwerke AG took place on October 12, 2016. With the sale, the approximately 8,000 employees of Vattenfall, who work in the lignite division were active, continued to work in the renamed companies.

After the decision of the EU Commission to tighten limit values ​​for mercury and NOx from August 2021 and before the end of the possible objection period on November 10, 2017 by the federal government (Federal Environment Ministry) against this decision, the LEAG submitted jointly on November 7, 2017 with Euracoal , the Mitteldeutsche Braunkohlengesellschaft (MIBRAG) and the German Braunkohlen-Industrieverein eV (DEBRIV) are suing the Court of the European Union . The main point of this lawsuit is the technically incorrect derivation of the emission bandwidths and the proportionality of the feasibility of reaching such limit values. For example, technical retrofitting of power plants is not covered by this decision, since, according to the EU decision, limit values ​​must be achieved through available technology in the process of exhaust gas generation . According to the EU resolution, limit values ​​for NOx in lignite power plants should be in a range of 85 to 175 mg / Nm³ (currently possible limit value 200 mg / Nm³) and for mercury from <1 to 7 µg / Nm³ (currently possible limit value 30 µg / Nm³) can be achieved.

On 1 October 2018, the first power block ( "Block F") was the power plant Jänschwalde off and after a preparatory phase of three years security readiness transferred. The power plant block is thus available as a reserve before it is completely shut down after another four years. With the shutdown, Lausitz Energie Kraftwerke AG is following the federal government's plan to shut down a total of 2,700 megawatts of power from lignite power plants by 2020. For the decommissioning, the company will receive compensation in an unknown amount from the Federal Republic of Germany; the total amount of compensation payments to all affected power plant operators is expected to be EUR 234 million for the years 2017 and 2018.

Locations in Germany

LEAG headquarters in Cottbus

The administration of the LEAG companies is based in Cottbus, Brandenburg .

The LEAG operates as the operator of the East German lignite opencast mines and power plants. In the Company's energy Bergbau AG Lausitz settled opencast mines include the sites Welzow-South , open pit Nochten , Reichwalde and Jänschwalde . The recultivation of the Cottbus-Nord opencast mine is also partly carried out by LEAG and transferred to the Cottbuser Ostsee project . The briquette factory at the Schwarze Pumpe industrial park is part of Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG .

The company's power plants operate under the name Lausitz Energie Kraftwerke AG . The power plants operated in the Lusatian lignite district are managed there. To the power plant sites include the Schwarze Pumpe power plant , the power plant Boxberg and Jänschwalde . Part of the Lippendorf power plant ("Block R") is also part of the company's power plant portfolio. The second block ("Block S") belongs to the Baden-Württemberg energy supplier EnBW . The entire system is operated by LEAG. LEAG plans to build a 53-megawatt battery storage facility (project name “Big Battery Lausitz”) at the Schwarze Pump power station by 2020, which will primarily contribute to grid stability. The entire project is expected to cost around 25 million euros; the state of Brandenburg is funding it with 4 million euros. With this size, the energy storage device is one of the largest in Europe.

On March 30, 2017, the company announced a new area concept, with which the further course of the company and the future design of the region will be clarified. On the basis of this concept, the company is allowing the Jänschwalde opencast mine to expire on schedule in 2023 and will not develop the expansion field in the Nochten opencast mine, with the exception of the Mühlrose special field . The plans for the expansion of the Welzow-Süd opencast mine were stopped until 2020. Since LEAG is one of the largest companies in Lusatia and helps shape large parts of the industry through the value chain, this area concept is also of great importance for the state government in Saxony and Brandenburg.

Company data

The lignite division as the company Vattenfall Europe Mining AG ( Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG ) generated a loss of around 46 million euros in 2014  . The turnover amounted to approximately one billion euros. More than 80% of this was raw lignite or other coal products. In 2014, the company mined just under 62 million tons of raw lignite, 51.5 million tons of which were sold directly to Vattenfall Europe Generation AG .

The power plant division under Vattenfall Europe Generation AG (now Lausitz Energie Kraftwerke AG ) also generated a loss of around 708 million euros in 2014. This was due to falling electricity trading prices and unfavorable market expectations as well as a write-down of 428 million euros on the Moorburg power plant, which is not part of Lausitz Energie Kraftwerke AG after the sale and remains in the Vattenfall Group. The hydropower plants also remain with Vattenfall GmbH . A turnover of approx. 2.4 billion euros was achieved.

For the 2017 financial year, Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG generated a loss of 23.3 million euros and Lausitz Energie Kraftwerke AG a loss of 89 million euros. Overall, both companies generated a loss of 112.3 million euros. In comparison, with a total loss of 162.9 million euros in 2016, 100 million euros were attributable to Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG and 62.9 million euros to Lausitz Energie Kraftwerke AG.

In 2017, the LEAG power plants generated 58.2 TWh of electricity, which corresponds to a market share of 14.9%.

subsidiary company

The company LEAG includes the forwarding agency Transport and Speditionsgesellschaft Schwarze Pump mbH (TSS GmbH) based in Schwarze Pump and the planning and service company GMB GmbH based in Senftenberg . Both companies are legally independent companies owned by Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG . The Black Pump Power Plant ( KSP GmbH for short ) owned by Lausitz Energie Kraftwerke AG is the owner of the Black Pump Power Plant . Due to service contracts with LE-K, KSP GmbH does not have its own employees.

criticism

Criticism of the LEAG business and the plans of the Czech investors EPH and PFF was expressed in connection with the German coal phase-out, which is based on a planning scenario drawn up in 2016. Power plant blocks of the largest LEAG power plants Boxberg and Jänschwalde are switched off on average at the times that the coal compromise also provides. At the same time, according to the plans of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the company will receive up to 1.75 billion euros in compensation for the shutdown. In addition, until the final phase-out of coal, the amount of lignite extracted will be reduced by only 13 million tonnes to 854 million tonnes (equivalent to around 1.5%) by 2038. From the opposition parties of the left and the FDP, these billions in payments are described as "completely inappropriate" or "senseless billions for the power plant operator at the expense of the taxpayer". Environmental groups criticize you as gifts without consideration. The LEAG rejected the allegations as unfounded.

Furthermore, coal-fired power generation in Germany has come under strong criticism because of its high pollution. There are repeated protests and demonstrations on the part of coal opponents and supporters. Among other things, opencast mines and power plants are the target of climate activist actions. At the beginning of 2016, the Welzow-Süd open-cast mine, which had been shut down as a precaution due to the announcement of the campaign, was peacefully occupied by the activist group “ Endelassung ”. The activists then forcibly stormed the grounds of the Schwarze Pump power station, whereupon 120 people were temporarily arrested by the police.

Sale to EPH

Criticism of the sale of the open-cast mine and power plant business to the Czech EPH Group was expressed in advance by the environmental organization Greenpeace . EPH is an "unscrupulous investor" who buy up companies and squeeze them financially. Compared to the takeover of MIBRAG, Greenpeace fears that the new LEAG will deduct provisions that were intended for recultivation. Especially with regard to the government's climate targets, Greenpeace sees no way of achieving these with the new investor. Likewise, the group network of various affiliated companies under the holding EPH as well as the close cooperation with PPF, which is based in Jersey , a so-called tax haven , are criticized .

Delays in the sale of the lignite division resulted from a lawsuit against Vattenfall at the EU Commission. The Dresden- based Lausitz Mongolia Mining Generation AG saw itself treated unfairly in the bidding process because of unauthorized state aid. The bid from the German- Mongolian company was rejected without giving any reason, similar to the bid from the environmental organization Greenpeace.

Safety standby Jänschwalde power plant

On 1 October 2018, the first block of the power plant Jänschwalde went into the security readiness . The shutdown was accompanied by employees of the LEAG and coal supporters with a demonstration in Cottbus and a vigil at the Jänschwalde power plant. Above all, reference was made to the loss of approx. 600 jobs resulting from the shutdown of Unit F and Unit E of the Jänschwalde power plant, which are to be cut in a socially acceptable manner. There was also criticism of the security readiness from the Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen party , who classify the compensation payments as a “gift to the electricity companies”.

At the same time as the shutdown, demands were made on the federal government by both sides, both those in favor of as well as the opponents of lignite power generation, to promote structural change in Lusatia.

See also

Web links

Commons : LEAG  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lusatian opencast mining company is now called LEAG. In: www.rbb-online.de. October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016 .
  2. ^ Märkische Allgemeine, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany: After Vattenfall sale - Lusatian brown coal is now called LEAG - MAZ - Märkische Allgemeine. In: Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved October 11, 2016 .
  3. ↑ a b company register. Federal Gazette, May 29, 2017, accessed on January 10, 2018 .
  4. ↑ a b Report - Monitoring Report 2018. Bundesnetzagentur / Bundeskartellamt, November 21, 2018, p. 43 , accessed on January 20, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Veřejný rejstřík a Sbírka Listin - Ministerstvo spravedlnosti České republiky. Retrieved April 21, 2018 (Czech).
  6. ↑ Handelsregisterauszug "Lausitz energy Verwaltungs GmbH" from December 12, 2016 (HRB 12691 CB), In: unternehmensregister.de , accessed on January 3 2017
  7. ↑ EPH and Vattenfall: Czechs officially take over East German lignite . ( handelsblatt.com [accessed October 11, 2016]).
  8. ↑ a b company. In: LEAG. Retrieved October 11, 2016 .
  9. ^ André Bleicher: The institutionalization of an organizational field: the example of the electricity industry . July 11, 2007, urn : nbn: de: kobv: co1-opus-3447 .
  10. ^ Resolution of the merger control procedure, ruling pursuant to Section 40 (2) GWB. (PDF) Bundeskartellamt, 8th Decision Division, May 10, 2001, accessed on October 12, 2016 .
  11. ↑ German Bundestag Printed Matter 13/1660 of 14 June 1995
  12. ↑ n-tv news television: "New Power" in the East: Clear the way for Vattenfall Europe . In: n-tv.de . February 19, 2002 ( n-tv.de [accessed October 12, 2016]).
  13. ↑ Vattenfall changes its legal form and limits the scope of liability | 08/10/2012. In: www.verivox.de. August 10, 2012, accessed October 12, 2016 .
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  15. ↑ Katrin Langhans Berlin: Coal power plants: Greenpeace wants to buy, Vattenfall should pay . In: sueddeutsche.de . October 20, 2015, ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed October 11, 2016]).
  16. ^ Two more Czech bidders for Lusatian lignite division. In: www.rbb-online.de. March 16, 2016, accessed October 11, 2016 .
  17. ↑ SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg Germany: Energy supplier: Vattenfall sells lignite division to a Czech company. In: SPIEGEL ONLINE. April 18, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016 .
  18. ↑ Sale of Vattenfall's lignite division is delayed. In: www.rbb-online.de. August 25, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016 .
  19. ↑ Lausitzer Rundschau: Cottbus: New name and new boss for Lausitz opencast mines and power plants :: lr-online. Live ticker for the EPH press conference. In: www.lr-online.de. October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016 .
  20. ↑ LEAG takes legal action against EU limit values . In: Lausitzer Rundschau-Online . November 14, 2017.
  21. ↑ LEAG is suing stricter emission limits. In: LEAG weekly magazine "Die Woche im Revier", November 13th to 19th, 2017.
  22. ↑ Jänschwalde lignite power plant will be gradually shut down. Retrieved on October 3, 2018 (German).
  23. ↑ Lausitzer Rundschau: Cottbus: Last trip out of the pit :: lr-online. In: www.lr-online.de. December 24, 2015, accessed October 11, 2016 .
  24. ↑ Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG: LEAG storage project BigBattery Lausitz. Innovative solutions for a secure energy transition. In: LEAG company website. Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG, June 1, 2019, accessed on November 29, 2019 (German): "LEAG is breaking new ground and will build a battery storage system with a usable capacity of 53 megawatt hours (MWh) at the Schwarze Pump power plant and industrial site."
  25. ↑ LEAG will build giant battery storage systems in Lusatia by 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2019 .
  26. ↑ including Blumenthal, editorial office Brandenburg aktuell: Jänschwalde open-cast lignite mine will not be expanded. RBB, March 30, 2017, accessed March 30, 2017 .
  27. ↑ Editor: LEAG decides on new opencast mines in Lusatia . ( Niederlausitz-aktuell.de [accessed on March 30, 2017]).
  28. ↑ Simone Wendler : Leag cuts out open-cast mining plans in Lausitz. Lausitzer Rundschau, March 30, 2017, accessed on March 30, 2017 .
  29. ↑ Company register: Annual reports Vattenfall Europe Mining AG. In: www.unternehmensregister.de. March 11, 2015, accessed October 12, 2016 .
  30. ↑ Company register: Annual reports Vattenfall Europe Generation AG. In: www.unternehmensregister.de. March 11, 2015, accessed October 12, 2016 .
  31. ↑ Vattenfall does not sell hydropower plants | 07/05/2016. In: www.verivox.de. July 5, 2016, accessed October 12, 2016 .
  32. ↑ Lausitz Energie Verwaltungs GmbH: Consolidated financial statements for the financial year from 01/01/2017 to 12/31/2017 . Cottbus April 26, 2018.
  33. ↑ Ralf Julke: Leipziger Internet Zeitung: Why are there billions for coal piles that should go offline as planned anyway? -. In: l-iz.de. January 26, 2020, accessed February 5, 2020 .
  34. ↑ Coal phase-out: billions in compensation for power plant operators. In: zeit.de . January 16, 2020, accessed February 5, 2020 .
  35. ^ Frank Dohmen, Claus Hecking, Gerald Traufetter: 195 pages of ignition material. In: Spiegel Online . January 24, 2020, accessed February 5, 2020 .
  36. ^ Gudrun Janicke, dpa: Compensation for Leag: Green politicians: Do not reward continued operation of power plants. In: pnn.de (Potsdamer Latest News from the Tagesspiegel). January 25, 2020, accessed February 5, 2020 .
  37. ↑ n-tv news television: Now it's "the end of the terrain": opponents of lignite are occupying the Welzow open-cast mine . In: n-tv.de . May 13, 2016 ( n-tv.de [accessed October 12, 2016]).
  38. ^ "Heart artery" by Schwarze Pump was disconnected. Retrieved May 5, 2018 .
  39. ↑ Greenpeace sees EPH as an "unscrupulous investor". In: www.rbb-online.de. July 9, 2016, accessed October 12, 2016 .
  40. ↑ a b mdr.de: Greenpeace: Serious allegations against Vattenfall's successor | MDR.DE . September 7, 2016 ( mdr.de [accessed October 12, 2016]). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mdr.de
  41. ^ SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg Germany: Vattenfall: Sweden approves sale of lignite division to Czech company. In: SPIEGEL ONLINE. July 2, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2016 .
  42. ^ André Anwar, Tilo Berger, Michael Rothe: Vattenfall sale possibly on the dump . In: SZ-Online . August 9, 2016 ( saechsische.de [accessed April 13, 2020]).
  43. ↑ Jürgen Flauger: Selling the brown coal: Vattenfall cannot get rid of the Mongols . May 23, 2016 ( handelsblatt.com [accessed October 12, 2016]).
  44. ↑ Peggy Kompalla: The first block in the Jänschwalde power plant goes offline on Sunday. Retrieved October 3, 2018 .
  45. ↑ Knowledge database commercial law: decommissioning of lignite power stations and "security readiness". Retrieved October 3, 2018 .
  46. ↑ a b First unit in the Jänschwalde power plant shut down. Retrieved October 3, 2018 .
  47. ↑ Climate protectors for the demonstration in front of the Jänschwalde lignite power plant. Retrieved October 3, 2018 .