EDF CEO Luc Remont has informed managers that the group's nuclear activities will be reorganised to redress the recurring problems that led to production cuts in 2022.

Reuters cited an EDF spokesperson as saying a reorganisation of the nuclear division had been announced with the aim of ushering in "deep change" so that each activity's responsibilities are clearly defined.

Two sources told Reuters that the division would be restructured and five executives charged with drawing up proposals, including nuclear park head Cedric Lewandowski, head of new nuclear projects Xavier Ursat and head of industrial quality Alain Tranzer.

EDF has faced a series of technical and political problems over the past year, resulting in nuclear reactor outages that exacerbated Europe's energy crisis in the wake of sanctions placed on Russian oil and gas. The outages reduced 2022 nuclear power output to the lowest level since 1988.

The French government delisted EDF in June after 18 years on the stock market and has tasked Remont with reviving nuclear production as his top priority, including better management of the construction projects currently under way. The government's buyout of EDF minority shareholders is part of President Emmanuel Macron's renewed focus on nuclear energy, which includes construction of at least six new reactors.

Reuters cited one of the sources as saying that Remont wanted to move forward with building a new strategic plan without waiting for government decisions about its future financing. He told the group's top 300 managers that talks were still ongoing with the state and EU competition regulators about its existing and future nuclear activities.

"Remont said that it was not going to stop us from transforming and reorganising ourselves. There's no need to wait for a final decision from the president's office," one of the sources noted following the managers’ meeting.

Image: EDF Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Luc Remont (courtesy of Reuters)