Enel, Eni e Terna, the three battleships of Italian energy, arrived on the eve of the appointments to top management and the meetings in May. For all three publicly controlled companies, a three-year period ends and whether or not the top changes - the Meloni government will shortly announce the final decisions on appointments that are practically done – it is time to take stock: what has been done, what remains to be done. Enel is today a large multinational, a leader in renewable energy; Eni has ridden a gas crisis, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has no precedents since the post-war period; Terna is grappling with the need to strengthen the national transmission grid in line with the energy transition underway. Plan RepowerEu, lo stop to heat engines from 2035, the Directive onenergy efficiency of buildings to 2033, independence from Russian gas: everything pushes us to accelerate changes in the key energy sector after the shocks of the pandemic and war.
Enel: from nuclear power to renewables, Starace's revolution
Francesco Starace he arrived at the top of the Enel group in May 2014, after leading Enel Green Power for six years. Arriving on the command bridge of the Enel Group, he drastically changed the course of his predecessor Fulvio Conti who had had the merit of conquering Endesa without however being able to carry out the expansion into nuclear power with the French Edf.
Enel's change of course: leader in renewables, queen of the Stock Exchange
Starace has impressed a highly innovative vision to the group and did it with a execution speed amazing. She has definitely bet on renewable decarbonization, has completely reorganized the structure and geography of the group making it simpler and more visible, has taken the path of sustainable finance and launched – the first energy group in the world – sustainability linked bonds, which are now widely available on the market, thanks to the support and solid collaboration with Albert DePaoli, at his side since the beginning as Chief Financial Officer.
The result was a Ebitda initial of 15,5 billion which today is close to 20 billion (19,7), a vertical growth in past renewables from 9,6 to 59 GigaWatts with a leap of an additional 5,2 GW in 2022, a record that now makes Enel the leading producer of electricity from renewable sources in the world. Not to mention the establishment 3Sun in Catania: an investment of 600 million to make it the leading European producer of photovoltaic panels. The growth has been exponential as have the investments to achieve it: 88 billion in 9 years, almost 24 billion spent in Italy, and the debt has increased from 40 to 60 billion. Whoever takes over Enel today will have to bring it back to around a multiple of 2,5x on Ebitda: Starace has announced a divestment plan from 21 billion to bring it down to 51-52 billion by the end of 2023. The descent has already begun: after Argentina and Romania, the assets in Peru. Finally, in these 9 years Enel has become the first group by capitalization on the Milan Stock Exchange - 59 billion on April 6 - overtaking the "rival" Eni, with a return for shareholders on both capital and dividends. The coupon went from 13 cents in 2014 to 40 in 2022, the shares rose from 2,5 euros at the end of 2013 to 5,8 euros on 6 April with a record value of 8,9 euros in January 2021. The zero target carbon has been brought forward from 2050 to 2040 but, Starace said, "I think we'll get there sooner."
Eni: with Descalzi overcomes the Russian shock and organizes itself into satellites
Claudio Descalzi he became CEO of Eni, also like Starace at Enel in May 2014. He is certainly not an outsider, he was so to speak born and raised in Eni: Italy, Africa, the Middle East, operating activities have long been his bread and butter daily. It is also thanks to this considerable experience in the field and to the international relations acquired that he has been able "in 10 months to replace 50% of gas supplies from Russia" (equal to 20 billion cubic metres), as he himself said, rapidly moving the supply on Algeria. A test bench successfully passed, after i spikes in gas prices following the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine which had caused prices to skyrocket above 300 euros in August 2022, bringing Europe and Italy to their knees.
Eni not only oil&gas: Plenitude, sustainable mobility and nuclear fusion
Descalzi took over Eni after Scaroni's management and brought it back to its industrial objectives: production and development in oil & gas, but also the relaunch of green chemistry - from biofuels "suspended" by the EU to the latest lunge on Novamont – and innovation with nuclear fusion. He could count on the rich years of oil over $100 but he also had to deal with it pandemic shock and war in Ukraine with oil prices plummeting to 20 dollars and Russian gas prices out of control. Without neglecting the pressure of the energy transition, invoked but difficult to achieve. Eni came out leaving an undeniable impression solidity also witnessed by the holding on the Stock Exchange and by dividends gradually increased from 40 to 94 cents. In the last 6 years Descalzi has dedicated himself to transforming Eni from an integrated oil&gas group to a group divided into satellites: Var Energy in Norway, Azul Energy in Angola, Eni Sustainable Mobility (biofuels and services) and Plenitude for all retail and renewable activities. Looking to the future, the most important of the challenges remains the security of supplies and their diversification along with the transition to a greener world. Descalzi aims to double renewable production but is also convinced that we will still need gas for a long time, destined to reach 60% of Eni's production in the coming years, including the LNG component, with Mozambique becoming operational in record time.
Terna: the challenge of infrastructure in the NO country
After Enel and Eni, Terna. In the country of the NO – to infrastructures, regasification terminals, highways; to coal as to renewables – Terna's real challenge has been and will be to carry forward the important investment plans to modernize the transmission network national electricity. Its turnover but also the future of Terna depends on the realization of Terna's investments energy transition that we are committed to achieving by 2030. Terna is therefore the backstage of the change, less visible than Enel and Eni but no less important. In just a few years, it has become the first Tso (Transmission system operator) in Europe. If Flavio Cattaneo and Matteo Del Fante (who led it in the past) are responsible for the choice of development guidelines, Luigi Ferraris and, after him, Stefano Donnarumma pushed on making investments. As? With a better and more direct relationship with the populations interested in the projects, certainly. With rigorous growth plans. And with underground or maritime power lines, therefore invisible and technologically advanced.
Donnarumma arrived in Terna from the Roman Acea in May 2020 and brought theEbitda from 1,8 to 2 billion, the profit from 785 to 857 million, the dividend from 29,11 to 31,44 cents per share, the market capitalization from 12,5 to 16 billion, completing a work of gradual but constant growth also undertaken by his predecessors. But the most significant fact is undoubtedly the investment boost. In 2022 Terna invested 1,76 billion with a growth of 15,5% on the previous year and a pace that increased year on year (1,35 billion in 2020). Of the 11 billion investments included in the Driving Energy plan by 2025, half will go to Thyrrenian Link andAdriatic Link, both with submarine lines. Two strategic projects being delivered at the summit to come.
