RWE ranks among Europe’s five leading electricity and gas companies and wants to improve this position. Growing competition, increasing customers’ expectations, more complex regulatory and political situation as well as convergence of European energy market significantly influence the environment we are operating in.

“More growth, less CO2" strategy

The Strategy Agenda 2012, announced by RWE in 2008, has a guiding principle “More energy, less CO2”. This translates into the biggest investment programme in RWE’s history. From 2008 to 2012 RWE plans to earmark about 30 billion euros, out of which 20 billion euros outside Germany, for expansion and modernisation of energy infrastructure, environmentally friendly power stations, trans-regional and cross-border electricity transmission lines, gas pipelines and storage facilities as well as for gas and oil production. Besides being the largest capital expenditure programme in our 111-year history, this also makes RWE one of Europe’s largest private investors. No other utility is building more generation capacity in Europe than RWE. One of RWE’s priorities is also expansion of renewable sources.

The roadmap

The roadmap for RWE’s medium-term development focuses on six major goals, which it intends to achieve by 2012:

1. Earnings growth in the core markets: RWE’s focus is directed especially to markets, which are most important to the company at present: Germany and the UK.
2. Stronger regional diversification: RWE wants the share of earnings achieved by the activities outside Germany to increase to between 40 and 50 percent. In fiscal 2008, it was 27 percent.
3. Value-added growth by expanding the renewable energy business: by 2012, RWE aims to have 4.5 gigawatts of renewables-based generation capacities in operation or under construction. This would be more than three times its current level.
4. Improved emissions balance: RWE plans to reduce CO₂emissions substantially. The target for 2012 is 20 percent less than the current level. This excludes the impact of growth investments on RWE’s emissions balance.
5. Expansion of the midstream gas position: RWE intends to increase its purchasing volume from 40 to 60 billion cubic metres a year.
6. Strengthening of the upstream position: RWE wants to increase annual gas and oil production to about 12 million cubic metres of oil equivalent by 2012/2013.

Regional strategy

Along with the two largest markets – Germany and the UK – RWE is aiming to expand its position in the markets of the Benelux countries as well as Central and south-east Europe. Furthermore the fast-growing markets of Russia and Turkey are being closely monitored. The region of south-eest Europe is particularly interesting when it comes to renewables.
In Central and South-East Europe the objective is to build a well-balanced, low CO₂-emitting generation portfolio. In Central Eastern Europe focus is also on optimising the grid business, increasing gas storage capacity and expanding sales.
BETWEEN 2008 AND 2012 RWE IS PLANNING TO INVEST AROUND 30 BILLION EUROS