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The French Parliament approved this Wednesday, October 26 the appointment of Luc Rémont at the head of EDF. Chosen by Emmanuel Macron to succeed Jean-Bernard Lévy, the new boss has unveiled his roadmap to overcome the serious crisis that the French electrician is going through.
To be validated, the candidacy of Luc Rémont should not receive the opposition of more than 3/5ths of the members of the Economic Affairs and Senate committees. The current head of international operations at Schneider Electric received 32 favorable opinions out of 61 expressed in the National Assembly, and 26 favorable votes out of 45 expressed on the Senate side. His appointment as head of EDF must now be formally announced by decree.
Obligatory passage of the appointment process, Luc Rémont, 53, bowed to the game of questions and answers during a long four-hour hearing before the deputies, preceded by an interview before the senators. The context is ” short-term criticism “, he recognized in front of the senators. ” In this context of energy crisis, EDF is itself going through a serious crisis, of a technical and industrial nature, which accentuates the tension on the energy supply. “, he noted.
Resumption of nuclear production
The urgency is known: out of 56 nuclear reactors, half are shut down due to maintenance operations or corrosion problems. The challenge will be to restart enough reactors to cope with consumption peaks in winter. Luc Rémont has promised to devote himself totally “, from the first hours of his mandate, to keep EDF’s commitments for the recovery of the reactors that have been shut down. Target: nuclear production between 38 and 40 gigawatts in December, and between 45 and 50 gigawatts in January.
Keeping up with winter is Luc Rémont’s top priority. Beyond that, the future strongman of EDF plans many projects, including the relaunch of a nuclear program wanted by the government, hydroelectric investment and the ” development and adaptation of networks to more decentralized electricity “. Above all, he will have to restore the financial situation of the group. Its debt could peak at 60 billion euros at the end of 2022. It will have to be absorbed little by little, without giving up the company’s investments and without compromising its future. For this, it will be necessary to reassure employees and unions who fear a sale by cutting of the various activities of the group in full renationalisation.
In front of the parliamentarians, Luc Rémont also asked for a reform ” deep ” of the rules of the European market, judging ” indispensable » the decoupling of gas and electricity prices.
(With AFP)