4.3 Investments in partner power plants and other associates

Summarised financial information

Under the partner agreements in force, the shareholders of partner power plants are required to take on the energy and pay the annual costs allotted to their ownership interest throughout the concession period. Furthermore, nuclear power plant owners are required to pay limited additional contributions to the decommissioning and waste disposal fund, in case a primary contributor is unable to fulfil payments. The partner agreements run through the useful life of the power plant, or through the concession period, and cannot be terminated. For individual partner power plants, Alpiq assigned a portion of the energy to be granted to it due to its ownership interest, as well as the associated obligation to pay its annual costs to another company. In such cases, the reported interest relevant from an economic perspective may differ from the interest held pursuant to corporate law. The Alpiq Group’s share of the annual costs of all partner power plants in 2023 amounted to CHF 475 million (previous year: CHF 774 million). This amount is included in energy and inventory costs.

The merger of Atel and EOS, which formed Alpiq in 2009, led to fair value adjustments being made on the acquired assets in the course of the business combination. These fair value adjustments are amortised over the concession periods of the corresponding assets, which results in a negative impact on the share of profit and loss. In the summarised financial information the fair value adjustments are included and calculated on the basis of a weighting.

Material partner power plants

The associates classified as material by Alpiq comprise only strategically significant partner power plants. Market values are not available for any of these companies.

Total partner power plants and other associates (Alpiq share)

Accounting policies

An associate is a company over which the Alpiq Group is in a position to exercise significant influence through participation in the financial and operating policy decisions of the investee, and that is neither a subsidiary nor a joint arrangement. Significant influence is generally presumed with a share of voting rights ranging from 20% to 50%. Where appropriate, companies may likewise be accounted for as associates in the consolidated financial statements by applying the equity method, even if the ownership interest is less than 20%. This applies especially where the Alpiq Group is represented in the authoritative decision-making bodies, such as the Board of Directors, or participates in operating and financial policymaking. The equity method is also applied to assess companies over which Alpiq, despite having a related ownership interest of 50% or greater, has no control, as a result of restrictions in articles of association, contracts and organisational rules.

With regard to associates, Alpiq makes the distinction between partner power plants and other associates. The partner power plants are companies that construct, maintain or operate nuclear power plants or hydropower plants or manage the energy purchase rights. Goodwill may also arise through purchase of investments in associates and corresponds to the difference between the cost of investment and the Group’s share of the fair value of the identifiable net assets. Such goodwill forms part of the carrying amount at which the associate is recognised.

The reporting date of a few partner power plants (hydrological year) and other associates differs from that of the Group. The most recent available financial statements of these companies are used to prepare the consolidated financial statements of the Alpiq Group. Significant transactions and events that occur between the end of the most recent reporting period and 31 December are taken into account in the consolidated financial statements. To be included in the consolidated financial statements, the financial statements of the associates are prepared applying uniform accounting policies. Reconciliation statements are prepared for companies that have no IFRS financial statements.