100-year-old hydropower

The arched wall of the Mooserboden dam rises 107 metres almost vertically towards the sky - and it is 500 metres wide. Two water reservoirs lays inside the huge building and below the snow-covered mountaintops above Kaprun in Austria.

The water gushing into the power plant makes the water turbines spin, which operates the huge generators. Electricity for households and all sorts of other functions in the community is generated here.

   - One can say that I have a very dramatic landscape as a workplace, says Wolfgang Laube, 26, who is an electrician and versatile craftsman for the energy company Verbund.

   - I mainly do various maintenance jobs in Kaprun and around the dam and the hydropower plant. The job is challenging especially physically. There will be a lot of equipment to carry and we often work in remote environments.

During a typical day, Wolfgang is moving over large areas between the small village of Kaprun and the tourist-friendly ski resort of Zell am See. The Mooserboden reservoir is located 2000 metres above the sea level.
   It is important to solve work tasks quickly and efficiently, as it can be difficult to get back and forth to the place where the work is performed.

   - My job is to make sure everything works as expected. It could be fixing a broken generator or to make sure the lights work in one of the many tunnels. There are minor and major jobs that require inventiveness and cleverness, but it is also things that only need a quick fix. I like that the job is so varied.

The weather is another factor that can really cause problems.

   - The winter is very long here, from October to May. It can be hard to get around. We have to go by cable car between the mountains to bring all of our equipment. It takes a lot of time to get myself here. The advantage is that I love to be outdoors.

Facts

Name: Wolfgang Laube.
Age: 26.
City: Kaprun, Austria.
Employer: Verbund.
Occupation: Electrician.

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