History

Our history

The history of Repower begins in the very south of Graubünden in Valposchiavo. The company was founded on 14 June 1904, at that time still under the name Kraftwerke Brusio (KWB). The first high-pressure power plant, which had Lago di Poschiavo as its reservoir and its powerhouse in Campocologno, was the largest of its kind on the continent when it commenced operation. Initially, most of the electricity generated was exported. The main customers were Valtellina and Milan, far removed from Switzerland’s centres of consumption. From 1908, KWB supplied electricity for the electrification of the private Bernina Railway and later the Rhaetian Railway as well. After the Second World War, more and more electricity was fed northwards via the Bernina Pass.

The company experienced its greatest expansion in 2000 when KWB merged with Rhätische Werke für Elektrizität and Bündner Kraftwerke AG to form Rätia Energie AG. Ten years later, the company was renamed Repower. The impetus for the merger in 2000 came from the canton of Graubünden, which three years earlier had acquired the shares in Bündner Kraftwerke AG from Nordostschweizerische Kraftwerke AG (NOK). In 2004, the group was expanded to include aurax ag, based in Ilanz.

The close connection between the company and Italy that was established in the early days still exists. Rezia Energia Italia (since 2010 known as Repower Italia) was founded in Milan in 2002. Besides its sales business in Switzerland and Italy, Repower now also operates on the major central European trading exchanges via its floors in Poschiavo and Milan.