Public utility network operator Wiener Netze and the relevant expert units of the Vienna City Administration, particularly the Vienna Waterworks (MA 31- Vienna Water) and the department for waste water management (Wien Kanal), will cooperate even more closely on joint infrastructure projects in the future.

Investments in local SGIs are known to create jobs and promote local businesses at the same time. Key infrastructure services will therefore remain under public management by the city. "Investing in modern infrastructure makes Vienna fit for the future while also guaranteeing high quality of life and excellent ecological standards for generations to come", says Ulli Sima, Executive City Councillor for Environmental Affairs and Public Utilities.

EUR 50 million per year for water provision
For many years now, MA 31 has coordinated the rehabilitation of the city's vast water supply network, which comprises 3.000 kilometres of water pipes. Based on an internationally recognised six-pillar model, approximately 30 km of pipes are renewed or repaired every year. Total investments in Vienna's water supply system add up to EUR 50 million per year. The six-pillar model consists of a Network Information System (NIS), comprehensive network monitoring, computer-aided evaluation of all information obtained, measures to promote trenchless rehabilitation methods, creating synergy effects by coordinating measures with other developers, and a stronger focus on infrastructure installations along main roads.

EUR 1 billion for modern electricity supply by 2020
The city's public utility network operator Wiener Netze works to ensure safe and reliable energy supply throughout the Austrian capital and beyond. The public company operates and maintains 23,000 km of electricity cables, 4,670 km of gas pipes, a district heating network of 1,200 km, 2,000 km of fibre optic cables for as many as 1.6 million customers. By 2020, Wiener Netze has set aside a budget of over EUR 1 billion for measures that will make the city fit for its projected population growth, thereby safeguarding internal and external jobs in the long term.

EUR 650 million of the budget set aside by Wiener Netze until 2020 will be used for rehabilitating and extending the key energy networks in Vienna, i.e. electricity, gas and distance heating. The large-scale modernisation of underground line U4 will account for approximately EUR 20 million, while EUR 48 million will be invested in the city's distance heating network.

Sustainable energy sources like wind and solar power are environmentally friendly but require a high degree of network flexibility. Wiener Netze supports green technologies by using scientific research findings in order to prepare its energy networks for the integration of renewable energy sources. Vienna's largest energy network operator is committed to remaining one of the most reliable energy suppliers in Vienna, with a supply security of 99.99 percent.

Vienna also has a modern biogas plant that produces biological methane from 22,000 tons of kitchen waste per year. The biogas is fed into the city's regular gas supply network, making an active contribution to climate mitigation as this method helps avoid about 3,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year.

The same effect is reached by operating so-called Citizens' Solar Power Plants – photovoltaic plants run by Wien Energie and financed via shares issued to the local population. By now, 23 of these green power plants have been linked up to the general energy supply network of Wiener Netze. (Source wien.gv.at)