PreussenElektra (''Preußische Elektrizitäts AG'') was a German electric company that existed from 1927 to 2000. From its founding until around 1970, it was owned (directly or indirectly) by the Republic of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

and the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

. From 1929 until 2000, it was a subsidiary of

VEBA VEBA AG (originally from ''Vereinigte Elektrizitäts und Bergwerks Aktiengesellschaft'' or "United Electricity and Mining Corporation") was a German state owned energy company. VEBA was founded in 1929 as a holding company owned by the state of ...

. In 2000, it was merged to create E.ON. During its existence, it was the

electric utility An electric utility is a company in the electric power industry (often a public utility) that engages in electricity generation and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a major pr ...

for

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

, and parts of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

and

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

. In 2016, the nuclear energy company of E.ON was renamed PreussenElektra GmbH.

Early years

PreussenElektra was established in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

in 1927 when electricity suppliers ''Grosskraftwerk Hannover AG'', ''Preussische Kraftwerke Oberweser AG'', and ''Gewerkschaft Grosskraftwerk Main-Weser'' merged to form PreussenElektra. It operated two

thermal power station A thermal power station is a type of power station in which heat energy is converted to electrical energy. In a steam-generating cycle heat is used to boil water in a large pressure vessel to produce high-pressure steam, which drives a stea ...

s, Borken in

and Ahlem in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, and eight hydroelectric stations. The company was to oversee the electricity interests of the

n state. The Prussian state also owned the ''Nordwestdeutsche Kraftwerke AG'' (NWK), which merged with PreussenElektra in 1985, Ostpreussenwerke AG and the Überlandwerke and Strassenbahnen Hannover AG. Since 1929, PreussenElektra was owned by

holding company. In 1928–1931, in partnership with municipalities, PreussenElektra founded several regional electricity suppliers. These included ''Schleswig-Holsteinische Stromversorgungs-AG'' (now: Schleswig-Holstein Netz AG), ''Stromsversorgungs-AG Oldenburg-Friedland'' (now: EWE AG), ''Elektrizitäts-Aktiengesellschaft Mitteldeutschland'' (now: EAM GmbH & Co. KG), and ''Hannover-Braunschweigische Stromversorgungs-AG'' (now part of Avacon). PreussenElektra also acquired stakes in ''Braunschweigische Kohlen-Bergwerke AG'', ''Westpreussische Überlandwerke Marienwerder GmbH'', and ''Thüringer Gasgesellschaft'' (Thüga AG).

Nazi Germany (1933–1945)

In 1937, the annual electricity output of PreussenElektra exceeded 1 TWh. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the German electricity industry was targeted by Allied bombers. As a result, the construction of the hard coal station in Lahde was disrupted. After the war, PreussenElektra's assets in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

came under state control and the headquarters of PreussenElektra were moved from Berlin to

in 1947.

Nuclear power

In 1957 PreussenElektra and NWK, together with other electricity utilities, founded a nuclear energy research company ''Studiengesellschaft für Kernkrafte GmbH''.

Scandinavian connections

During the early 1960s NWK began its cooperation with electric utilities from neighboring countries. In 1961–1962, NWK together with the Danish utility ''Det Jyskfynske Elsamarbedje'' (ELSAM; now part of

Energinet Energinet is the Danish national transmission system operator for electricity and natural gas. It is an independent public enterprise owned by the Danish state under the Ministry of Climate and Energy. Energinet has some 1150 employees, an ...

) completed the 220 kV link from Flensburg to

Aabenraa Aabenraa (; , ; Sønderjysk: ''Affenråe'') is a town in Southern Denmark, at the head of the Aabenraa Fjord, an arm of the Little Belt, north of the Denmark–Germany border and north of German town of Flensburg. It was the seat of Sønderjyl ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. Later Vattenfall, ELSAM and NWK built the Konti-Skan link from Gothenburg to Aalborg. This link, which was to be jointly managed, went into operation in 1964.

Integration with East Germany

According to the German Electricity Agreement of August 22, 1990, PreussenElektra and

RWE RWE AG is a German multinational energy company headquartered in Essen. It generates and trades electricity in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United States. The company is Europe's most climate threatening Company, the world's number two in offsh ...

got 35% each and Bayernwerk 30% of the East-German holding company, which had subsidiaries ''Vereinigte Kraftwerks AG Peitz'' and ''Verbundnetz Elektroenergie AG''. In 1991 these two companies were merged to form ''Vereinigte Energiewerke AG'' (VEAG). After the merger of VEBA, the parent company of PreussenElektra, and VIAG, the owner of Bayernwerk, in 2000, PreussenElektra merged with Bayernwerk to form E.ON Energie, a subsidiary of E.ON. At the same time VEAG was sold to Hamburgische Elektricitäts-Werke AG (HEW), now

50Hertz Transmission GmbH 50Hertz Transmission GmbH, formerly named Vattenfall Europe Transmission, is one of four transmission system operators for electricity in Germany, and is wholly owned by Eurogrid GmbH, indirectly owned and managed by the Belgian transmission sy ...

. In 1999, PreussenElektra acquired ''N.V. Electriciteitsbedrijf Zuid-Holland'' (EZH), a regional utility in the Netherlands.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Electric power companies of Germany Defunct energy companies of Germany E.ON Technology companies disestablished in 2000 1927 establishments in Germany Energy companies disestablished in 2000 German companies disestablished in 2000 German companies established in 1927