France names new CEO for troubled nuclear energy group EDF

The French government on Wednesday appointed Luc Remont as chief executive for EDF, the state-controlled national electricity giant that is racing to get nuclear reactors back online as winter looms.

Remont, a top civil servant with private banking experience, replaces Jean-Bernard Levy, whose departure was seen a foregone conclusion when the government announced in July that it would take full ownership of the debt-laden firm to ensure the country’s energy security.

EDF operates the 56 nuclear reactors that generate around 70 percent of France’s electricity needs, but around two dozen have been offline for months, many because of fears over micro-cracks discovered in emergency cooling systems.

Officials worry that without sufficient capacity as temperatures drop, EDF will have to buy increasing quantities of electricity on the European power market, where prices have spiked as Russia’s war against Ukraine drags on.

The company has deployed hundreds of workers to get the affected reactors up and running, but doubts are growing that the company will bring enough reactors back online before winter settles in.

Last week, grid operator RTE warned of a “high risk” of network strain due to the power plant outages, which could see businesses and households forced to curb usage to avoid outright power cuts.

President Emmanuel Macron has also called for the construction of at least six next-generation nuclear power plants to make France less reliant on energy imports — which could prove attractive to other European countries looking to reduce their reliance on coal and natural gas.

But EDF is saddled with legacy debt that could reach 60 billion euros ($62.2 billion) by the end of this year, and new CEO Remont will also face employee anger over Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age for state workers. EDF currently allows workers to retire as early as 57 and a half years.

Remont, a graduate of France’s elite Polytechnique engineering school, has worked in government ministries, the industrial giant Schneider Electric, and as a mergers and acquisitions advisor at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

“In this context of energy crisis, EDF itself is in a serious crisis, both technical and industrial, that is accentuating the strains on energy supply,” Remont told a parliamentary committee in October.

“This could be the mission of a lifetime,” he said.

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