The decreasing dependence on pegging to oil prices and the attraction of highly volatile spot markets further bolster the trend towards short-term natural gas procurement. Erdgas Ostschweiz AG has therefore adapted its traditional procurement model to the change in market needs and to the new framework conditions posed by energy policy and developed new solutions.

Erdgas Ostschweiz AG has unbundled network operation and procurement as a response to increasing liberalisation of the Swiss natural gas market. The company formed as a result, Open Energy Platform AG, today acts as a competence centre for natural gas procurement, portfolio management and other energy services, primarily for gas supplies in eastern Switzerland. This means that Erdgas Ostschweiz AG has met key requirements of a deregulated natural gas market at an early stage.