Milan, 23 September 2015 – Jean Bernard Lévy, head of EDF and Edison Chairman, today presented to the top management of the Italian company the development strategy of the entire group CAP 2030 and its guidelines for Italy.
“Italy is the first country in which I’m presenting EDF strategy after I met yesterday in Paris the group’s top management. Italy is obviously one of the leading economies in the world with a lot of opportunities for growth, but I want to tell you: Italy is a core country for EDF. Thanks to Edison and Fenice we have built a strong reputation as a leader in the energy business in this country. It was not an easy task to achieve our current status of control as majority shareholder, so today we want to capitalise on our position on what we have built and we want to expand across the Italian peninsula in line with our strategic plan”.
“Cap 2030 is EDF long-term plan to meet the challenges of energy market and of the digitalisation of the economy. Societies around the world are looking for new energy models. The energy mix of the future is going to be radically different from what we are today. Everyone agrees on the need for urgent action to combat global warming. In France, we have the law on energy transition and in Italy we have the Strategia Energetica Nazionale. EDF is a partner in the Climate Conference, due to take place in Paris in few weeks, and expectations on this issue are high. EDF is a credible partner in COP21 because our own energy mix produces just 17g of CO2 per kWh in France and 88g/kWh in Europe, whereas the European average of around 300g/kWh. We have the assets we need to achieve this target: 40 million customers, a low carbon generation fleet and committed employees. To be the efficient and responsible as a power company, to be the champion in low-carbon growth, it means we need to be engaged in tomorrow’s challenges. This is what we will do with CAP 2030. In CAP 2030 I have set three key priorities for development: customer at the heart of all our actions, a low carbon generation mix and the development in the global energy markets”.
“Edison is a strategic asset to EDF. The Gas and Power sector in Italy, as in the rest of Europe, there is a limited growth in volume and in wholesale prices: competitiveness and efficiency has to be the key driver. The Italian market is fragmented: other players, smaller than Edison, are knocking on the door, we open and listen. An asset combination would strengthen our role on the market and, following my initial discussions with the Italian government, I feel this is an avenue worth exploring. In any case we will keep control of the company as Edison is a strategic asset to EDF. Edison remains our core centre of competence for gas and a strong gas strategy is among the priorities of my agenda. In July we announced a review of our strategy with regard to our fossil-fired generation assets: this is, at this stage, just a review. Edison rests on two legs, Gas&Power and Oil&Gas: at this stage both legs are needed for Edison”.
