Secure power supply became important early on, as political pressure to transfer it from private to public hands increased.

In 1914 the cantons of Aargau, Glarus, Zurich, Thurgau, Schaffhausen and Zug united to form Nordostschweizerischen Kraftwerke AG (NOK),[11] and took over the Beznau-Löntsch power plants.

In December 1969, the first unit of the Beznau nuclear power plant (KKB) went into commercial operation after a construction period of four years.

Nuclear power plants should be operated as long as they are safe, to bridge gaps until the Energy Strategy 2050[15] can take effect.

Since then, Axpo's situation has stabilised thanks to significant cost reductions and higher electricity prices (see current credit ratings).

[32] The Axpo power mix[33] with hydropower, nuclear energy and biomass is climate-friendly insofar as it hardly results in CO2 emissions in Switzerland.

Based on the Annual Report 2018–19, Axpo also achieved cumulative energy efficiency increases of about 90 gigawatt hours (GWh) over the last six years.

[31] Axpo also sees these investments as well as the expansion of business with long-term power procurement agreements (PPA) for non-subsidised renewable energies as a contribution to the sustainability goals of the United Nations.

[35] As a member of the UNO, Switzerland is expected to help implement these goals by 2030, whereby the private sector, particularly energy companies, play a key role.

The main changes as compared to the previous year are in new energies abroad owing to the acquisition of Urbasolar (photovoltaic portfolio France).

Hydropower plays an important role in the planned restructuring of power production in Switzerland as set out in the Energy Strategy 2050.

[40][41] The Urbasolar portfolio includes photovoltaic plants with a total capacity of 249 MW (per the end of financial year 2018–19).

In March 2020, the company announced that it would build solar plants for the Paris airports Charles-de-Gaulle, Orly and Le Bourget.

In addition, the company also holds an interest of 24.1% in the Global Tech I offshore wind farm in the North Sea.

Since the beginning of 2020, Axpo is responsible for the marketing of all the power generated by Global Tech I amounting to about 1500 million kWh per year.

[47][48] [49] *AEW Energie AG, a co-owner of the Axpo Group, holds 5.43 percent in the Leibstadt nuclear power plant.

With its grids, Axpo supplies all of Northeastern Switzerland, the Principality of Liechtenstein as well as parts of the cantons of Schwyz, Zug, Grisons and Valais with electricity.

Axpo's Thayngen-Schlattingen high-voltage line runs partly through German territory, but does not supply any transformer stations in Germany.

According to the nomination text, the Russian plant Majak, purchase point for fuel assemblies, is the "most contaminated place on in the world".

The Neue Zürcher Zeitung wrote: The fact that environmentalists knew more about the origin than the Axpo specialists is embarrassing.

[52] Axpo wanted to visit the plant, although even inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency have been refused entry.

[53][54] On 12 November 2011, Axpo communicates that it has "temporarily issued the order" to suspend purchasing fuel assemblies from Majak.

The website associated with this domain accused Axpo of unethical practices, including "Bossing and Mobbing," "Racial Discrimination," and "Retaliation and Threats."

The company was found to have used outdated and inaccurate personal information to activate unsolicited electricity and gas contracts without customers' knowledge.

This led to customers receiving unexpected closure letters from previous suppliers or payment reminders for unpaid invoices.

In December 2024, the Aargau cantonal government expressed strong disapproval of the substantial rise in Axpo's management salaries.

The cantonal government accused Axpo's leadership of a "lack of sensitivity towards politics, the economy, and the population," emphasizing that there was "little understanding" for the disbursement of "record-high bonuses."

In response, the canton of Aargau proposed an amendment to Axpo's articles of association, suggesting that the Annual General Meeting, rather than the Board of Directors, should decide on remuneration each year.

In January 2025, Axpo Iberia was fined €1.5 million by the Spanish energy regulator for manipulating the continuous intraday electricity market.

As a comparison: The value for the European power mix is at about 300 g.[55] In 2018 Axpo generated an average of 103 grams of CO2 equivalents and 29 cubic-millimetres of nuclear waste per kilowatt-hour.