2023-05-10 17:31:14
Next session on May 25, 2023
Vienna (OTS/RK) – Today, on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, the Vienna City Council’s commission of inquiry into Wien Energie held its tenth meeting.
Erich Zach from Municipal Department (MA) 5 was the first witness invited to be questioned by the commission. The commission’s questions to the witness concerned the following topics: education and professional career of the witness; Responsibilities and distribution of tasks in the Wealth and Investment Management Department of MA 5; Preparation and formulation of the application for emergency competence; time of the first transmission of the order to create the emergency competence; Contents of discussions with the MA 5 department head Gerhard Mörtl; Procedure for creating the emergency competence file; Perception of the witness regarding desired additions to the file to be sent by e-mail; Realization of the emergency competence sum of 700 million euros; possible urgency of creating the emergency competence file; Act revised on July 14, 2022; assessment of the witness on the use of emergency competence in the application of Wiener Stadtwerke; other contact persons for the witness at Wiener Stadtwerke; Clarification of the term exemption in the application; Inclusion of a declaration of harm and no-claims in the emergency competence file; variants when using emergency competence; acknowledgment of the witness to credit lines of Wiener Stadtwerke; Discussions with Wiener Stadtwerke about the conditions of the credit line; legal expertise within MA 5; Time of creation of the corresponding electronic file; Explanation of the term “aid issue” in the file; Insight of the witness into the cash pooling status of Wiener Stadtwerke; Procedure for drawing up credit framework agreements by subsidiaries of the City of Vienna; Achievement of the specific credit conditions; possible creation of further file notes outside of the electronic file; expiry of the days before the creation of the second emergency competence; Discussions with the Wiener Stadtwerke before the second emergency competence; amount of liquidity required by Wiener Stadtwerke; Witness’s perceptions of taking Margin amounts; Termination of the loan agreement between the City of Vienna and Wiener Stadtwerke; possible conversations between the witness and Wiener Stadtwerke in early July 2022; possibility of terminating the loan; process of deciding on emergency competence; Number of employees in wealth management at MA 5; Structure of the exchange between the city’s wealth management and the subsidiary companies; Interest payments by Wiener Stadtwerke to the City of Vienna; Form of transmission of the loan application by Wiener Stadtwerke; Existence of risk management in the city’s asset management; Conversations between the witness and Wiener Stadtwerke in August 2022.
As the second witness, Norbert Pannagl, Head of Legal, Compliance and Public Procurement Affairs at Wiener Stadtwerke, gave answers to the commission’s questions. He provided information on the following matters: professional function and the associated specialist knowledge of the witness; insight into the financial situation of the public utilities; time of first perception of emergency competence in 2020; time of assignment to draft an application for emergency competence; level of knowledge about emergency competence at the time of placing the order; Exchange with colleagues in the group regarding emergency competence; Employment relationship with Messrs. Mörtl and Zach from MA 5; Formulations in the mail to MA 5 with the draft on emergency competence; possible contacts with Mayor Ludwig and employees of MA 5; Examination of the emergency competence of the city senate; Deadline for completing the application; Assistance in completing the draft application; Inquiries about the exemption clause; Approval of the draft application; possible speculation by Wien Energie; possible orders directly from the mayor; finalization of the credit agreement; Feedback from the addressee of the mail with the first draft of the application; Contact with municipal utilities and MA 5 before and after signing the contract; Draft for the second emergency competence; Timeline for the financial situation of Wien Energie; Creation of the sum of 2 billion euros in the first emergency competence application.
The third witness on the day of the meeting was Gabriele Jandrisevits-Herzog, Head of Treasury and Asset Management at Wiener Stadtwerke. She was questioned about the following matters: the witness’s education and career; time of first perception of emergency competence; organization of the treasury department of Wiener Stadtwerke; possible reporting lines to the city of Vienna; involvement of the witness in the handling of the first emergency competence; Processing of the cash pooling in the Wiener Stadtwerke; Achievement of the sum of 700 million euros; Contacts of the witness in the Viennese magistrate; necessity of drawing a tranche from the first emergency competence; Necessity for higher liquidity of the municipal utilities in summer 2022; Change in the rating of Wiener Stadtwerke; speculation about the solvency and liquidity of Wiener Stadtwerke; higher capital requirements of Wiener Stadtwerke in August 2022; Change in bank credit lines in summer 2022.
Subsequent to the questioning, motions for evidence were voted on.
The next meeting of the municipal council’s investigative committee is expected to take place on Thursday, May 25, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. in the Vienna City Hall.
meeting minutes www.wien.gv.at
The minutes of the meetings are below retrievable and are thus made accessible to the public. The minutes of today’s meeting can be read there shortly. (final) wei/nic
Questions & contact:
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