The fourth Annual General Meeting of Alpiq Holding Ltd. was held in the Palais de Beaulieu, Lausanne, on 26 April 2012. The 326 attending shareholders represented 90.59 percent of voting shares and approved the 2011 consolidated financial statements as well as the 2011 annual report and annual financial statements of Alpiq Holding Ltd. The AGM also approved the proposals of the Board of Directors to transfer the head office of Alpiq Holding Ltd. from Neuchatel to Lausanne and pay a dividend of CHF 2 per registered share in Alpiq Holding Ltd. Attending shareholders also discharged the members of the Board of Directors from liability and elected Dr. Conrad Amman, Patrick Pruvot and Gérard Roth to the Board of Directors for a three-year term of office and François Driesen for a one-year term of office. The new Board members replace Dr. Hans Büttiker, Frédéric Mayoux, Philippe Torrion and Pierre Aumont. The Annual General Meeting further voted to re-elect Hans E. Schweickardt, Christian Wanner, Claude Lässer, Daniel Mouchet, Prof. Dr. Guy Mustaki, Dr. Jean-Yves Pidoux, Dr. Alex Stebler, Urs Steiner and Stéphane Tortajada for a three-year term of office.
Candid review of the year. Setting course for the future In his address Hans E. Schweickardt said that although, due to the poor result, fiscal 2011 was not a year to look back on with pleasure, he wanted to give an honest, frank and sober account of the year. The Chairman of the Board said he also wanted to look ahead and "shape the future to our vision". In his dual function as Alpiq Chairman and CEO a.i., he said he wanted to perform this task and steer Alpiq back to calmer waters.
Schweickardt stressed that the sustained pressure on the company had not let up. "We have therefore responded quickly and resolutely by launching a comprehensive restructuring programme," he commented, adding that it would take time for the programme to kick in and impact the balance sheet. But Schweickardt was confident that Alpiq would succeed in achieving its objectives. To invest in the future, Schweickardt said that Alpiq was driving forward a series of new projects.
New energy policy faces acid test of direct democracy In an aside on the new energy policy, Hans E. Schweickardt highlighted the discrepancy between withdrawing from nuclear power and an ambitious climate policy, cautioning against abandoning the carbon-neutral electricity mix and having to resort to energy generated from fossil fuels. The Chairman pointed out that the road to a new energy policy must inevitably involve a people's referendum. "Until the new energy policy has been approved by Swiss voters and has therefore passed the acid test of direct democracy, the debate should – indeed must – be continued. I believe this is also what voters expect of us."