50. Redefining Utilities' strategies in the Electric Decade (with E.ON at Eurelectric Power Summit 21) - may21

“Sorry, I’m getting emotional when it comes to smart meters”. Part of Eurelectric’ s Power Summit 2021, we have had a great conversation with Dr Leonhard Birnbaum, the new CEO of E.ON. E.ON is a massive German Utility that has spent the last decade (aka “the lost decade”) selling its coal plants, exiting from nuclear and swapping assets with ex rival RWE. After this reinvention, E.ON can now face the 2020’s with a strong balance sheet and a clear strategy. How to make the most of its two main businesses, retail and networks? What is the impact of digitisation (EV charging, smart meters) on its revenue model? Will it have to adopt a more aggressive strategy than just deleveraging and distributing dividends? To summarise: is E.ON going to be a prey or a predator? Dr Leonhard Birnbaum faces all our questions with humour, humility, and comes up with a clear vision for his company. We would like to thank Kristian Ruby and the talented team of Eurelectric for organising the debate. https://www.eurelectric.org/We thank our partner Aquila Capital for supporting the show - https://www.aquila-capital.de/en/————-Follow the show on Twitter @Redef_Energy