Municipality of Iitti sells its district heating business
Adven Oy acquires the district heating business of Kausalan Lämpö Oy, owned by the municipality of Iitti, and will be responsible for the production and development of district heating in Iitti, Finland.
For several years, the municipality of Iitti has been assessing various options for the future of its district heating operations. Key considerations have been around the financing of new district heating investments, bringing new technical and commercial expertise to the operations, and mitigating the municipality’s financial risk in the rapidly developing energy market.
The perspective in the preparation has been partnership focused, with an aim to secure competitive and sustainable district heating production in Iitti. The new owner should also have capability to expand the district heating network service and diversify production and fuel mix. The divestment of the district heating business enables the municipality to finance future investments in other areas.
The production and distribution of district heating is not part of municipality’s core tasks. We talked to several potential partners, but Adven’s expertise and experience in the district heating business convinced us. In addition, we believe that the sales price is right and Adven’s long-term ownership follows our partnership approach.
Jarkko SalonenChief Executive of Iitti
At the moment, district heating is produced in the Kausala area with wood chips, peat and light fuel oil. Adven’s goal is to reduce the use of oil from the first heating season onwards, and in the medium-term switch to the use of fully renewable and recycled fuels.
– Cooperation with the municipality of Iitti and Kausalan Lämpö has been excellent. Adven’s aim is to provide secure and sustainable heat deliveries in the area and keep district heating as the preferred heating option in Kausala. We also see opportunities to expand heat supply to new industrial customers and improve industrial competitiveness in Iitti area, Vice President M&A and Partnerships at Adven Eero Siltalehto explains.
Adven supports the operations of Kausalan Lämpö already before the closing of the transaction. This means, among other things, support in the on-call ring and integrating the facility to Adven’s remote control service. As a result of the transaction, two energy production experts will be transferred to Adven.
– Adven has several similar heating plants, so we are able to bring our expertise to the operation of the Kausala plant from the very first meters. Warm welcome to new team members. It’s always great to be able to strengthen the team,” says Production Manager Matias Lipsanen from Adven’s Eastern Finland region.
Additional information:
Adven, Eero Siltalehto, Vice President, Acquisitions and New Partnerships, tel. 040 158 9200, eero.siltalehto@adven.com
Municipality of Iitti, Chief Executive Jarkko Salonen, tel. 040 726 2990, jarkko.salonen@iitti.fi