81 shareholders attended the 8th Annual General Meeting of Alpiq Holding Ltd. at the convention centre of the EPFL. They represented 94.82 per cent of voting rights. The shareholders approved the 2015 consolidated financial statements of the Alpiq Group as well as the 2015 annual report and the annual financial statements of Alpiq Holding Ltd. The General Meeting discharged the members of the Board of Directors of their responsibilities and approved the motion by the Board of Directors not to pay a dividend in light of the continued strained income situation. Shareholders appointed Patrick Pruvot, John Morris and Wolfgang Martz to the Board of Directors of Alpiq Holding Ltd. for a one-year term, in succession of board members Heiko Berg, Philipp Büssenschütt and Guy Mustaki, who did not stand for re-election.
In his address, Chairman of the Board Jens Alder looked back at his first term in office. He formulated three objectives for the company: maintaining capital market viability, optimising company value, and fulfilling responsibility as a part of Swiss electricity supply. Owing to the extremely challenging framework conditions, Alpiq decided on structural measures, among others, to open the hydropower portfolio to investors. In doing so, the company intends to reduce its dependency on wholesale prices. In her statement, CEO Jasmin Staiblin emphasised that Alpiq will continue to keep up its commitment to Swiss hydropower. The company is convinced of the long-term, competitive future of Swiss hydropower. Hence, Alpiq will retain the majority interest in the portfolio.