EDF Moves Back Into State Hands With a Multitude of Burdens
- Challenges include growing debt load, reactor repairs
- CEO Remont will present new strategy in the coming weeks
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Electricite de France SA is set to return to full state ownership on Thursday, almost 18 years after its listing on the Paris stock exchange. Its nationalization ends a bumpy ride for shareholders but many challenges still loom large for the debt-laden nuclear behemoth.
The €9.7 billion ($10.4 billion) bill for nationalizing EDF has bought the French government the power to align the strategy of Europe’s biggest electricity producer with its own priorities — keeping power prices affordable, investing in new reactors and expanding renewables. But the utility’s baggage means the state won’t have an entirely free hand.