Romande Energie : Municipal majority holding acquired in Thermoréseau Avenches SA district heating network

Press release

Morges, 19 December 2017

Municipal majority holding acquired in Thermoréseau Avenches SA district heating network

Romande Energie Services SA affirms spearheading position

Romande Energie Services SA has acquired the majority holding in Thermoréseau Avenches SA owned by the Avenches municipality. It now plans to expand the district heating scheme so that more homes and businesses can benefit from this reliable, renewable and affordable source of heat energy. The acquisition secures the long-term future of existing installations and marks another step towards the goal of Romande Energie Services SA to become a top-three provider of energy services in Western Switzerland by 2020.

Subsequent to the acquisitions of Neuhaus SA (Echandens) and PolyForce SA (Bulle), Romande Energie Services SA has continued expanding its operations within Western Switzerland. This latest acquisition sees it consolidating its district heating business.

Thermoréseau Avenches will work closely with the staff of Romande Energie Services SA to unlock an increasing volume of synergies and shorten response times for meeting customers' needs. "This business combination will provide a secure future for the company. And because of its stature, Romande Energie Group has the requisite potential to expand access to the facilities, which is one of the energy targets of the Avenches municipality," said Gaetan Aeby, Deputy Mayor of Avenches.

Aiming for top-three in Western Switzerland

Romande Energie Services SA - with its multi-disciplinary expertise - offers a comprehensive range of innovative turnkey solutions to residential, business and public-authority customers throughout Western Switzerland that enables them to reduce energy consumption and generate power and heat from renewable sources. "We are developing new lines of business in the context of the current energy transition, such as contracting. We believe district heating has a strong future ahead of it, and renewable energy sources are needed to reduce emissions, especially of CO2," added Dominique Ramuz, a senior executive at Romande Energie Services SA and native of the area.

Acquiring the equity interest of the largest shareholder of Thermoréseau Avenches SA, founded in 2002, marks a step towards achieving these targets. The Avenches district heating network has been expanded steadily since 2003 and now provides 13 GWh/year through 14km of high-temperature piping.

This investment by Romande Energie Services SA will provide a long-term foundation for Thermoréseau Avenches SA, covering the costs of maintenance and higher network density. An additional 7.0 GWh/year is planned to be generated in the coming years as more homes and businesses connect to the network, saving the equivalent of 1 million litres of heating oil and some 2,650 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

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Note to editorial desks

This press release is being issued outside the trading hours of the SIX Swiss Exchange as required by the SIX Listing Rules on ad hoc publicity.

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Your contact

Michèle Cassani

Head of Communications

Direct line: +41 (0)21 802 95 67 Mobile: +41 (0)79 544 89 11

Email:michele.cassani@romande-energie.ch

Romande Energie at a glance

Romande Energie Group is the leading electricity distributor in Western Switzerland. Through its subsidiary Romande Energie Commerce, it supplies more than 300,000 end-customers directly in approximately 300 municipalities in the cantons of Vaud, Valais, Fribourg and Geneva. Its core business lines are the generation, distribution and marketing of power together with energy services.

Priorities are liaising with customers to ensure high-quality services in line with expectations; guaranteeing a reliable, sustainable and competitive supply of energy; developing proprietary power generation through priority investments in renewable energy; and promoting innovative energy-efficiency solutions.

Romande Energie's corporate social responsibility policy systematically guides its approach to business.

For more information on Romande Energie Group, visitwww.romande-energie.ch