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ENGLISH SUMMARY
The Company RARIK (Iceland State Electricity) was founded in April 1946 and started operations in January 1947. Its function and main responsibility through the years has been the electrification of most parts of Iceland, particularly the rural areas. The main tasks being to procure, distribute and sell electricity in its operating area and thus provide and create added value to its customers. By devoting its energy to building an electric power transmission and distribution system for the country’s rural as well as urban areas, RARIK has played an important role in the development of individual regions in the country. Electrical and industrial development went hand in hand in Iceland. RARIK played the principal role in the electrification of Iceland’s rural areas and now provides electricity via the grid system to around 60 population centres around Iceland. Its distribution network covers around 80-90% of the country’s inhabitated areas and serves approximately 15% of the population. The length of the high voltage distribution network is ca 9,360 km and although originally all high voltage distribution was via overhead power lines, by end of 2020 69% of the lines had been replaced with underground cables. Following the passage of a new Icelandic Electricity Act in 2003 a number of significant changes took place in the field of energy production, transportation, distribution and sales. In accordance with the new act an independent company, Landsnet hf, began operation on the 1st of January 2005. This company was created to organize the transmission of electric power between different parts of Iceland and to its largest population centres. RARIK owns a 22.5% share in Landsnet hf. The new act also meant that consumers were able to choose an electricity supplier, and thereby competition was initiated in the field of electricity sales in Iceland. In accordance with the new act, RARIK was incorporated in July 2006, and this limited company took over all activities of the State Electric Power Works as off the 1st of August 2006 – just 60 years after Parliament adopted the act on the Establishment of the State Electric Power Works. RARIK’s operations were divided at the beginning of the year 2007 into its concessioned activities, which are operated by the parent company RARIK ohf, and its competitive business activities, which were transferred to a subsidiary Orkusalan ehf. The subsidiary, Orkusalan ehf, produces, buys and sells electricity to homes, businesses and institutions throughout the country and is 100% owned by RARIK. In 2008 a new subsidiary was established, RARIK Energy Development Ltd (RED), also 100% owned by RARIK. The main task of this subsidiary is energy research and development, both domestic and abroad. In addition, RARIK owns and operates five hotwater supply utilities. Until December 2020 there were three geothermal utilities and two district heating ones, but as of late December the district heating utility in Hofn was replaced by a new geothermal utility. The number of employees of RARIK and subsidiaries at the end of 2020 was 214.
2020 – ÁRSSKÝRSLA RARIK OHF.
