About

Alpiq Holding was formed as a result of the 2009 merger of two Swiss energy companies Aare-Tessin (Atel Holding) and Energie Ouest Suisse (EOS). Since then the company has established itself as an agile market leader in the field of energy generation, trading and sales, as well as in power engineering. The legal and compliance functional unit at Alpiq has become important in raising awareness of potential risk, provide coaching for employees in compliance matters, offer advice on all legal issues and implement policy management systems in a time of great change for the energy market. Last year the European electricity market underwent fundamental changes, introducing new rules around how market actors generate, trade, supply and consume electricity and use the electricity infrastructure. Despite that, as part of Alpiq’s strategy implementation, the company expanded its energy services portfolio in which the legal team led a number of strategic projects, such as the acquisitions of Helion Solar Group, one of Switzerland’s largest solar specialist, smart building supplier IRel AG, a Basel-based company offering customised solutions for smart buildings, and Balfour Beatty Rail SpA, an Italian railway technology specialist. Frank Schwabe, head of compliance, and Peter Schib, head of corporate legal, were singled out by sources as exceptional leaders in an already strong legal and compliance team.