Chronology HEW (Hamburg)

1879

Electric lighting is used on the wharves in Hamburg's harbour for the first time. Now, ships can also be loaded and unloaded at night.

1882

The first public electric lighting is installed on the town hall square and in parts of the harbour. The electricity needed for this is generated in Hamburg's first power station in the old city water mill (now Poststrasse).

1884

The 'Börsenkeller' wine restaurant acquires an electricity meter, thus becoming the first electricity customer in Hamburg.

1891

The first electric harbour cranes in the world come into use.

1894

Low voltage line | Year: 1895 | ID: VF000515

On March 15, a joint stock company under the name of 'Hamburgische Electricitäts-Werke AG' - HEW (Hamburg Power Stations) is founded. Its task is to generate and supply the Hamburg urban area with electric energy and district heating.

1895

Supply of district heating in Hamburg begins. The first customer is the Hamburg town hall.

1904

Building of the first HEW administration building begins at the Horsemarket, now Gerhard-Hauptmann-Platz.

1908

HEW shares are registered on the stock market.

1914

The state takes an initial 50 per cent share in the company. A concession contract establishes the supply area of HEW.

1921

HEW, along with the Rudolf-Otto-Meyer company, founds the Hamburg District Heating Plant Co. Ltd. (Fernheizwerk Hamburg GmbH). With this, the use of combined heat and power (CHP) begins.

1922

The first traffic light on Stephansplatz inaugurates the era of electrical traffic management in Hamburg.

1937

On 1 April, with the Greater Hamburg Act, large-scale exchanges of territory between Prussia and Hamburg take effect. HEW's supply area is almost doubled, as the towns of Altona, Harburg and Wandsbek now also belong to Hamburg.

1942

The first commercial apprentices are trained at HEW.

1949-1956

HEW supplies electricity from the East Hannover power plant to West Berlin - it is fed into the GDR grid at Hagenow and, in return, electricity is supplied from East to West Berlin.

1953

HEW operates its first experimental wind power plant.

1963

The thousandth district heating customer is connected. The supply network covers 100 kilometres.

1969

HEW moves into its administrative building in the City Nord district of Hamburg.

1971

The information centre on the construction site of the Brunsbüttel nuclear power plant is opened. It is the first of its kind in Germany.

1972

With the commissioning of the Stade nuclear power plant, HEW begins to generate electricity by nuclear power.

1988

HEW acquires a majority holding in the Hamburg Gasworks GmbH (HGW).

1997

Start of the sale of the HEW shares held by the City of Hamburg.

1999

Vattenfall AB acquires 25.1 per cent of the shares in HEW, and increases this holding to 96.8 per cent by 2002.

2001

HEW acquires 89.5 per cent of Bewag shares. Renaming of Neue Kraft (New Power), consisting of HEW, VEAG and Laubag, as Vattenfall Europe.

2002

Separation of the operating business of HEW AG into Erste HEW-Verwaltungs AG, followed by fusion of VEAG and HEW AG, and renaming of the resulting holding company to Vattenfall Europe AG.

2004

Appointment of a joint Board for the companies Bewag and HEW, each with co-determination bodies.

2011

Vattenfall sells 25 percent of the district heating and electricity grids in Hamburg to the city of Hamburg.

2012

Vattenfall Europe AG becomes Vattenfall GmbH.

2014

Vattenfall sells its remaining 75 procent of the electricity grid to the city of Hamburg.

2015

The 1.548 MW coal-fired plant Moorburg becomes operational.