C.V.A. - Compagnia Valdostana delle Acque

By nature a very watery part of Italy, the Val d'Aosta region has always given great consideration to using this indispensable resource; there are documents from the thirteenth century which mentioned the building of artificial canals so that this precious asset can be distributed for irrigation purposes, for cattle grazing, and for use in the home. Since then we have always regulated, very severely and very precisely, the use of water, and the organisations which still do so are our modern consortia.

This need for independence in using water, which has been carried across over the centuries by our region, so its first modern application in the purchase of hydroelectric stations by the ILVA Power Stations company.

This is how the CVA, the Val d'Aosta Water Company, started in 1995 with its first three stations. In 1996 the CVA began promoting hydroelectricity with 36 local industries, so they could transfer the energy they made to local businesses.

In 1997, the CVA purchased the station at Issime from the Regional Junta, after it stopped being used for local steel production. Government privatisation efforts gave rise to negotiations which ended in the Agreement made on 19 April 2000 ratified in the sale by the State Electricity Company of 25 stations in Val d'Aosta. At the same time, an agreement was reached for the distribution of electricity, with a co-partnership of 51% to the State Electricity Company and 49% Finaosta. Since then, the Val d'Aosta has been the first region in Italy to have complete independence in managing water and related resources, and the Agreement became law on 1 June 2001 when the Geval S.p.A. Company was set up.

On 2 January 2002, Geval S.p.A. incorporated CVA S.p.A., previously owned by the Regional Junta, and took over the stations mentioned above. To show this continuity with the past, Geval changed name to CVA S.p.A. Compagnia Valdostana delle Acque - Compagnie Valdôtaine des Eaux S.p.A.

There is a powerful link right from the very start with the electricity that comes into our house: it is the link between man and water, a harmonious and fascinating chain with much history, culture, and mutual respect embedded in it. All the dams, artificial lakes, and hydroelectric stations run by CVA Compagnia Valdostana delle Acque are the result of this underlying link. Structures which have been designed to use and harness the power of all that water in the mountains around us, and to integrate with Mother Nature. This is a sort of silent agreement which brings together electricity generation and environmental protection in the Alps. It is all a very important thing, and can release up to 830 MW of power, or a total of 2,900 million kWh every year.