IBC was founded 125 years ago when the city of Chur merged the former electricity, gas and water supply companies into one company - today's IBC. IBC is the only cross-linked company in Graubünden and your competent partner for energy and water in the region. A brief look back:
The water supply, the oldest branch of today's IBC, was established over 250 years ago.
Records from 1736 and 1816 show that the first springs on the Mittenberg and Pizokel were tapped at this time and the public and private wells were fed by pipes.
In August 1859, the citizens granted the city council the authority to “establish and provide gas
lighting in the city”. The gas factory began operating as early as December 1859. By September
1860, there were already 131 subscribers with a total of 1048 flames. This made Chur one of
the first Swiss municipalities to take advantage of the great benefits of gas lighting.
In 1876, the population of the town had grown to around 8100 people and the water supply
was inadequate. In 1873, the council therefore decided to acquire a spring in Parpan and build
a hydrant line from St. Antönien to the Postplatz. The St. Hilarien reservoir with a capacity of
600 m3 was also built. In 1891, the town acquired the Meiersboden spinning mill property and
the associated right to use the water power of the Rabiosa. The town then built and operated
its own power station under the company “Lichtwerke Chur”. With an output of around 400
HP, the plant was one of the largest power stations in Switzerland at the time.
The city of Chur was responsible for the water supply, operated the gas factory and the lighting
works. The merger of the various branches into a joint company marked the birth of the
industrial enterprises of the city of Chur.
The Fürstenwald, Lürlibad and Balzersgut reservoirs were built to create a high-pressure water
supply for the higher areas of the city, and the springs on Mittenberg were recaptured and
discharged. Ten years later, the first groundwater pumping station was built and put into
operation at the bottom of Rheinstrasse, allowing groundwater to be pumped into the
municipal supply network for the first time in 1941. In 1947, the construction of another
hydroelectric power station became necessary. The Plessur stage Lüen-Chur/Sand was realized.
IBC Energie Wasser Chur Felsenaustrasse 29, 7000 Chur Markt & Energie
Further expansion work was carried out in all areas during this time; a second groundwater well
on Rheinstrasse, the Waisenhaus reservoir and the third and largest groundwater pumping
station on Rossboden.
The use of hydropower on the Plessur and Rabiosa rivers was reorganized in 1981. The new
owner of the Lüen-Sand and Rabiosa-Sand power plants is the Gemeindekorporation Kraftwerk
Chur-Sand (GKC). The municipalities of Lüen, Calfreisen, Castiel, Maladers, Praden, Churwalden
and the city of Chur belonged to it, and IBC manages the operations. Town gas production was
discontinued in 1985 and the production plant on Industriestrasse was converted to a butane-
air mixture with natural gas quality.
In 1989, the city founded Erdgasversorgung Bündner Rheintal AG (EBRAG) together with the
municipality of Chur and the municipality of Igis/Landquart. In 1999, the first drinking water
power plant is put into operation in the St. Hilarien reservoir. This produces 900,000 kWh of
clean, ecological electricity every year. This corresponds to the annual consumption of around
200 households.
In 2005, the people of Chur approved the spin-off of IBC from the municipal administration.
Since January 1, 2006, IBC has been an independent institution under
public law. This enables the company to operate more agilely in the rapidly changing energy
sector.
In 2006, IBC opened the first natural gas filling station in Graubünden on Kasernenstrasse.
In 2009, the shareholders Kantonsspital Graubünden (KSGR), Gemeindeverband für
Abfallentsorgung (GEVAG) and IBC founded Fernwärme Chur AG. This created the new heat
supply division at IBC. IBC now supplies several areas of the city of Chur in district and local
heating networks. The latest project was the realization of an anergy network in the Rheinfels
area.
One of the largest and most costly infrastructure projects in the history of IBC followed in 2015.
The oil-insulated, underground high-voltage power line from the 1960s between the Sommerau
substation and the Sand substation was replaced with a new high-voltage line at a cost of over
CHF 7 million.
EBRAG, which operates the high-pressure natural gas pipeline from Trübbach to Thusis, was sold
to Erdgas Ostschweiz AG in 2016. IBC is focusing on its expertise in the low-pressure sector.
2016 - 120 years have passed since the merger. IBC has always remained energetic, active and
progressive. To document this and to continue to actively position itself in the market in the
future, IBC renewed its visual and communicative image.
In 2018, IBC founded Wärmeverbund Domat/Ems AG together with the municipality of Domat/Ems and Rhiienergie AG. IBC is responsible for the business and operational management of this company with the purpose of establishing a heat supply in Domat/Ems based on existing waste heat from Ems-Chemie AG and Axpo Tegra AG.
2021 - Together with Elektrizitätswerk Maienfeld AG, which is the majority shareholder, IBC founded Energieverbund Maienfeld AG. IBC takes care of the secure supply of its customers yesterday, today and tomorrow; IBC - Well supplied.
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