As of January 1st 2005, the municipalities in the province of Ferrara are served by Hera Ferrara, the Territorial Operative Company, which has taken over the local utility services previously provided by Agea and Acosea.
Key figures of Hera Ferrara:
- Employees: 603
- Valueofproduction: 146 million euros
- Gas customers: 91,829
- Water customers: 134,474
- Environment customers served: 131,907
- Gas sold: 209.3 million m3
- Heat energy sold: 131,829 MWh
- Water sold: 20.3 million m3
- Waste collected: 96,741 metric tonnes
- Waste managed: 192,104 metric tonnes
Social performance
Employees
| Number of employees | 2003 | 2004 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | Total | |
| Executives | 8 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| Managers | 16 | 6 | 22 | 16 | 6 | 22 |
| Clerical | 117 | 108 | 225 | 122 | 110 | 232 |
| Labor | 329 | 24 | 353 | 315 | 24 | 339 |
| TOTAL | 470 | 138 | 608 | 463 | 140 | 603 |
| Training (in man-hours) | 2003 | 2004 |
|---|---|---|
| Vocational training and specialized education | 5,699 | 12,760 |
| Quality, safety and environment | 1,924 | 1,808 |
| Management training | 1,066 | 308 |
| Information technology | 1,930 | 247 |
| Total | 10,619 | 15,123 |
In 2004 the expenditure for training (without considering the costs due to lost worktime) amounted to EUR 48,800.
In 2004 the hours of absence totaled 224,093, of which 2,795 were due to strikes.
| Worker health and safety: Indicator | 2003 | 2004 |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency index (number of injuries/hours worked * 1,000,000) | 64.6 | 66.8 |
| Severity index (days of absence due to injuries / hours worked * 1,000) | 1.44 | 1.69 |
| Rate index (number of injuries/number of employees * 100) | 10.20 | 10.82 |
| Average length of absence due to injury | 22 | 25 |
Customers
Below are details of the customers served by the Ferrara territorial operative company:
| Energy Sector | 2003 | 2004 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | Customers served | 90,465 | 91,829 |
| District heating | Residential units served | 13,994 | 15,838 |
| Traffic light and public lighting management | Municipalities served | 2 | 2 |
| Water sector | |||
| Water supply system | Domestic users | - | 122,088 |
| Other | - | 12,386 | |
| Total | 97,775 | 134,474 | |
| Sewers and wastewater treatment | Civil users | - | 110,899 |
| Industrial users | - | 79 | |
| Total | 78,016 | 110,978 | |
| Environment Sector | - | - | - |
| Waste collection, street sweeping and cleaning, winter road clearance service | Municipalities served | 1 | 1 |
| Inhabitants served | 131,355 | 131,907 | |
Shareholders and financial backers
Hera Ferrara s.r.l. has a sole shareholder, being 100% owned by Hera SpA, as are the other 5 Territorial Operating Companies. Here are the main developments of recent years:
- 1964: Incorporation of AMGA (Azienda Municipalizzata Gas Acqua – municipally owned gas and water utility)
- 1970: Incorporation of AMIU (Azienda Municipalizzata Igiene Urbana - municipally owned waste management utility )
- 1992: Merger of AMGA/AMIU in AGEA
- 1997: AGEA becomes a “Special Company”
- 2000: AGEA becomes a joint-stock company (100% ownership of City of Ferrara)
- 2003: 10 municipalities of province of Ferrara acquire stakes (City of Ferrara: 82.18%)
- Entry of new shareholder Hera S.p.A.: transfer of 42% of shares
Economic performance
The 2004 operating results of the Ferrara companies are included in the Group’s consolidated data, since, for tax and accounting purposes, the merger had effects backdated to 1 January 2004.
The Group’s operating income of 144.34 million euros and net income of 62 million euros thus comprises the significant contribution of AgeaandAcosea, which contributed 146 million euros to the value of production and 23.6 million euros to the gross operating margin.
Suppliers
| Breakdown of suppliers by geographical region | 2003 | 2004 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hera Territory (provinces of BO-RA-FC-RN-FE) | 394 | 44.47% | 984 | 24.73% |
| Other provinces in Emilia-Romagna | 151 | 17.04% | 1,091 | 27.42% |
| Other Italian regions | 341 | 38.49% | 1,903 | 47.83% |
| Other European states | - | - | 1 | 0.03% |
| Total | 886 | 3,979 | ||
Community
Among the projects carried out in 2004 we shall mention the environmental education courses, involving over 30 schools in the province of Ferrara, which saw the birth of an educational program entitled “Non ti butto, ti suono” (“I won’t throw you away, I’ll play you” - how to make musical instruments from recovered materials) and guided tours to plants to get a direct look at the mechanisms used to segregate waste and its subsequent use.
Environmental performance
Starting from 1999 Agea has gradually certified all of its activities to standards UNI EN ISO 14001 and UNI EN ISO 9001:2000, with the aim of subsequently obtaining EMAS registration. In 2002 the company approved its “Environment and Quality Policy”. To date, EMAS regulations have been implemented for all of the businesses of Hera Ferrara with the exception of the integrated water cycle.
Services
In the water sector, Hera Ferrara manages the entire integrated water cycle in 12 municipalities of the province of Ferrara, from withdrawal from surface sources, to subsequent potability treatment in the Pontelagoscuro plant, to the release of treated wastewater in the Po river and canals.
A remote monitoring system allows supervision of the Pontelagoscuro potability plant and the main installations of the water supply system. In the sewerage and purification sector, wastewater pumping stations and treatment plants are similarly monitored.
The services in the energy sector include the distribution and sale of natural gas, district heating and electricity production. The district heating network, with a total extension of about 50 km, is a distinguishing feature of the city of Ferrara: the use of a geothermal source makes it one of the few of its kind in the world.
The “Geothermal Project” was launched with the aim of providing concrete solutions that could significantly reduce the impact generated by traditional energy sources by combining geothermal sources – completely clean and renewable – with recovered energy sources (waste-to-energy treatments) and traditional (natural gas) sources to meet peak demand for heating.
The environment area includes the services of waste collection, street sweeping, segregated waste collection and the operation of waste disposal plants and ecological stations.
In particular, the subsidiary Recupera oversees waste reduction, recovery, recycling and reuse; the subsidiary Ecosfera is specialized in biostabilization processes, which result in products suitable for planting cover over landfills and for environmental reclamation, and composting, from which quality fertilizers for agricultural use are obtained.
Geothermal energy
Ferrara’s source of geothermal energy, more precisely a mineralized saltwater Mesozoic carbonate platform at a temperature of 100/105°C, was discovered around the 1960s during drilling operations. The source is pumped up to the surface and then re-injected, once the thermal energy has been transferred to the district heating network, in order to preserve underground geotechnical stability. With a water flow rate of approximately 400 m3/h, it contributes significantly (with 14 MWht) to the total power that can be delivered by district heating.
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