Nant de Drance SA to increase share capital by 150 million Swiss francs

Nant de Drance SA share capital to increase from 150 to 300 million Swiss francs.

Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 2-5-2014 — /EuropaWire/ — Nant de Drance SA shareholders today decided at a General Assembly meeting to increase the share capital of the company by 150 million Swiss francs. They also elected two new members to the Board of Directors and approved the management report for 2013.

Nant de Drance SA shareholders attending the annual general meeting held on 28 April 2014 decided unanimously to increase the share capital of the company by CHF 150 million. The share capital will  therefore go from CHF 150 to 300 million. The increase  will be done by issuing 1,500 fully paid-in registered shares with a nominal value of 100,000 Swiss francs each. The shareholders will participate in the capital increase in proportion to their current holdings, which are 39% for Alpiq, 36% for SBB-Swiss Railways, 15% for IWB and 10% for FMV.

The General Assembly granted discharge to the members of the Board of Directors of Nant de Drance SA and elected Christian Plüss, representing Alpiq, and Peter Teuscher, representing SBB, to serve as members of the Board until the end of 2015. They replace Patrick Mariller and Matthias Gygax, respectively.

Construction of the power station on track
From an operational point of view, the construction of the Nant de Drance pumped-storage power plant is progressing according to schedule. The first section of the steel  lining has arrived  on site this  spring. Construction work to raise the height of the Vieux-Emosson dam has resumed and will be completed by the end of 2014, as will be the excavation and lining of the second vertical shaft. The installation of equipment in the machine cavern has started following completion of its excavation in March. To date the budget, slightly under 2 billion Swiss francs, is still maintained.

Nant de Drance SA media contact:
Aline Elzingre-Pittet – Media
Aline Elzingre-Pittet
Alpiq SA – Communications
T: +41 21 341 22 77
media@­alpiq.­com

The Nant de Drance project in brief:

The Nant de Drance project involves constructing a pumped storage power station in an underground cavern between the existing Emosson and Vieux Emosson reservoirs in the Canton of Valais. With a total installed capacity of 900 MW, the Nant de Drance power station will generate about 2.5 billion kWh of energy during peak periods every year. The power station will become operational in stages starting in 2018. The construction, commissioning and operation of the pumped storage power station is the responsibility of Nant de Drance SA. Their project partners are Alpiq (39%), the Swiss Federal Railways (36%), IWB (15%) and FMV (10%).

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Nant de Drance – Vieux-Emosson