A2A S.p.A. is an Italian utility company born out of the merger of two independent Italian companies, AEM of Milan and ASM Brescia at the end of 2007. It is the first Italian operator in the private urban waste sector to work 24 hours for an energy production of 1.5 TWh. It is the third largest company in Italy in the production and distribution of electricity. The A2A Group is listed on the Borsa Italiana and is a member of the FTSE MIB index. As well as Italy, the firm operates in Spain, France, England and Montenegro.

Areas of activity[link]

The A2A Spa Group is mainly active in the following sectors:

• The production, sale and distribution of electrical energy;
• The sale and distribution of gas;
• The production, sale and distribution of heat by means of district heating networks;
• The handling of waste;
• The handling of the integrated water cycle;
• The sale of adsl offers in the electrical network;

Activities are organised in four “distribution chains”:

• Energy

The activity is aimed at the wholesale and retail market of electrical energy and natural gas. Support to the marketing areas is guaranteed by activities of fuel supply, the programming and system control of electrical energy generating plants, the optimisation of portfolio and trading in the domestic and foreign markets

• Heating and Services

The activity is principally aimed at the sale of heating and electricity produced by cogeneration plants (mostly belonging to the Group). The sale of cogenerated heat is effected by means of district heating networks. The distribution chain guarantees too the service of managing heating plant property of third parties (heat management service) and activities of facility management.

• Environment

The activity relates to the whole cycle of waste handling, from the collection and refuse sweeping to the treatment, disposal, and recouping of material and energy. Included in fact within the activity of this distribution chain is the recouping of energy content in waste by means of waste to energy or biogas plants.

• Networks

The activity includes the techno-operating management of networks of transmission and distribution of electrical energy, transport and distribution of natural gas and the handling of the entire Integrated Water Cycle (Water collection, management of aqueducts, water distribution, management of sewage networks, purification).

• Other Services and Corporate

The Corporate Services comprise the activities of consultancy, strategic policy, co-ordination and control of industrial management, as well as services to support business and operating activities (e.g. services of administration and accounting, financial, legal, supply, personnel management, information technology, communication etc.). Other Services comprise activities relating to public lighting, equipment for traffic control, video surveillance and the management of votive lamps.

Other areas of interest[link]

• Action with EDF - joint venture 50-50 - The Transalpina di Energia owns 61.282% of the Italian company Edison, the second largest producer and distributor of energy (electricity and gas) in Italy.
• It also holds 6.44% in the Swiss company ATEL Holding AG, private Swiss producer of electricity.
• It controls 50% of the capital of Ergon Energia with the Spanish firm Endesa.

Principal stages in the birth of A2A[link]

01.01.2008 Start up of A2A Spa

24.12.2007 Drawing up of separation proceedings of AMSA and the merger proceedings of AMSA with AEM and of ASM with AEM

19.12.2007 Antitrust Authorisation

22.10.2007 Approval of the project by Extraordinary Meeting of ASM and AEM

23.07.2007 Approval of the Milan Municipal Council

27.06.2007 Approval of the Brescia Municipal Council

25.06.2007 Board of Directors of AEM, ASM, AMSA to approve the merger plans

04.06.2007 Signing of Agreement with Milan and Brescia Municipalities

04.06.2007 Board of Directors of AEM, ASM, AMSA to approve the Framework Agreement

18.12.2006 Board of Directors of AEM, ASM, to approve the Industrial Plan relating to company integration

Corporate governance[link]

The company is governed via a two-tier board structure, comprising a management board and an independent supervisory board.

The supervisory board is composed of 15 directors, of whom 6 are appointed directly by the Brescia Municipality, 6 by the Milan Municipality and the remaining three by a vote from the list of the remaining shareholders. The current chairman and vice-chairman of the supervisory board are Graziano Tarantini and Rosario Bifulco.

The management board is composed of 8 directors appointed by the supervisory board, on the basis of lists supplied by the supervisory directors. The chairman and vice-chairman of the management board are Giuliano Zuccoli and Vittorio Cinquini.

e-moving[link]

Zero Impact, many advantages. The A2A project for electric vehicles for the sustainable city

The project for electric vehicles “E-Moving” has been presented at Palazzo Marino, the Headquarters of the Milan Municipality.

The pilot phase will start in June 2010 in the cities of Milan and Brescia and will continue for a year.

The two Lombardy cities are vying to become the “reference cities” for electric transport in Italy, starting first of all with the development of a structured, complete and avant-garde electrical recharging network.

The recharging infrastructure, whose installation by A2A in the cities of Milan and Brescia will commence in May, will be developed to carry out two recharging methods:

• A standard recharging from a 220V 10A or 16A socket, that will enable the battery to be recharged in a time between 6 and 8 hours.
• A rapid recharge from a triple phase 400V 32A - 63A socket to recharge the battery in a time between 20 and 30 minutes depending on the current output.

The electrical energy supplied by A2A for recharging electric vehicles will derive significantly from renewable sources, this being a useful factor in pursuing an objective of a complete zero emission cycle.

The vehicles that will be involved in the “E-MOVING” pilot scheme are two of the four comprising the Renault-Nissan Zero Emission range that will come onto the market as from 2011.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance and A2A will work together to offer customers a wide range of commercial solutions for the purchase or the hire of Renault and Nissan zero emission vehicles and for the supply of electrical energy at a flat rate or based on consumption

Major shareholders[link]

• City of Milan - 27,4%
• City of Brescia - 27,4%
• Motor Columbus (Atel AG) - 3,5%
• City of Bergamo - 2%
• Fingruppo Holding S.p.A. - 2%

Sources[link]

• Company Profile from Borsaitaliana.it
• Shareholding from Consob.it
• Organi sociali da Consob.it

Notes[link]

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Annual Report 2010". A2A. http://www.a2a.eu/gruppo/export/sites/default/a2a/en/investor/reports/2010/documenti/02_Consolidato_311210_ing.pdf. Retrieved 17 November 2011. 

External links[link]

• Official website

Companies portal

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