nuclear-news

New EDF boss at mercy of ‘to-do list’ that ousted his predecessor

 The new boss of French state-owned energy group EDF faces the same nearly
impossible tasks that led to the ousting of his predecessor: satisfying the
government’s often contradictory demands for cheap power to help industry
and the construction of costly new nuclear reactors.

Bernard Fontana, nominated as chief executive on March 21, is a seasoned industrialist who
has run EDF’s engineering arm Framatome for nearly nine years. He will
seek to avoid the fate of the previous chief executive Luc Rémont, removed
last month after just over two years because of repeated clashes with the
state.

On Fontana’s to-do list will be repairing relations with the
government, the company’s only shareholder, striking energy supply deals
with some of EDF’s biggest industrial clients, while also advancing plans
to build six nuclear reactors in just over a decade — a key initiative of
French President Emmanuel Macron, which was announced three years ago.

Fontana’s main challenge is to balance competing pressures of delivering
low rates for power, demanded by government and industry, while generating
profits that will help support vast investments required to launch new
nuclear reactors.

The company ran over budget and behind time on the
completion of Flamanville, a new nuclear reactor in northern France, and
faces budget and timing issues with the UK’s Hinkley Point. It has also
faced criticism that it is yet to outline timelines and costings for the
project to build the six new nuclear reactors, which were originally due by
the end of 2024.

Last month, the government pushed back the launch date
from 2035 to 2038, although observers have long considered the 2035 target
unachievable. In short, Fontana’s success will depend on whether he can
walk the tightrope of running EDF profitably while delivering the vast
capital outlay needed to reboot France’s nuclear sector. This will
require a major shift from Rémont’s uncompromising approach. “If
Fontana has taken the job, he’s understood the lesson [from Rémont’s
sacking]. If he hasn’t, he’s an idiot,” said another adviser.

 FT 6th April 2025 https://www.ft.com/content/b9f39568-6029-4016-9c5f-0242dd8b9174

April 9, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, France