Court of Audit report

A death grip on Wien Energie

A lot of criticism of Wien Energie comes from the Court of Auditors.

(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

The Court of Audit takes Wien Energie to task. Triggered by the financial crisis. After the report, the Supervisory Board is in a grave-digging mood. Also because the cemeteries are represented there. 

Wien Energie is on the brink of bankruptcy, it was said in August 2022. It didn't get that bad, thanks to the city's own rescue package, but the energy company got into serious difficulties due to the security deposits on the stock exchanges. The Court of Auditors' report was published on Friday - with harsh criticism. It mentions "systemic weaknesses in management". And furthermore:

• "There were also deficits in the organization and cooperation of Wien Energie and Wiener Stadtwerke: Stadtwerke provided financing for stock exchange trading without demanding alternatives from the management of Wien Energie and setting limits."

• "The liquidity requirement was only disclosed two days before maturity."

• "Despite the tense market situation from spring 2022, the management of Wien Energie did not develop any alternatives to reduce the liquidity risk of exchange trading and spread the risk more widely." This was despite the fact that the company's continued existence and the supply of electricity, gas and heat were at risk.
• "Wien Energie's risk management did not list the liquidity risk among the 'top 5 risks' in the reports, even though it steadily increased from fall 2021 and ultimately reached a dimension that threatened the company's existence."

Biggest criticism of the Supervisory Board
The Supervisory Board is probably criticized the most, as it "did not perform its monitoring function comprehensively". This is due to the expertise of the people involved, as the Court of Audit diagnoses. Literally: "The City of Vienna and Wiener Stadtwerke should ensure that the composition of the Supervisory Board of Wien Energie is professionally balanced." And probably less on the competence of the Managing Director of Friedhöfe Wien, for example. According to the report, it was not so much the expertise of the Supervisory Board members that played a leading role in the appointments, but rather "the institutional proximity to the City of Vienna".

There was no speculation
"At the time, we acted to the best of our knowledge and belief in the interests of security of supply in an unprecedented situation," Wien Energie states. "The Court of Auditors clearly and unequivocally dispels the most important accusation: Wien Energie did not speculate." That's what the report says.