Kotin leaves Energoatom: how the management structure of Ukraine’s nuclear power industry is changing
21 August 17:36
Today, the Supervisory Board of NNEGC Energoatom JSC granted Petro Kotin ‘s request to terminate his powers as Acting Chairman of the Company’s Board. He has been at the helm of Energoatom since 2020, a period that has become the most difficult in the history of the country’s nuclear industry due to Russia’s armed aggression.
Who will replace Kotin, what he leaves behind for his successor, and how the nuclear company will continue to operate, found out
Personnel changes
The current personnel changes at Energoatom are a continuation of the corporate governance reform, which now completely changes the approach to the appointment of the company’s management.
The Supervisory Board of NNEGC has already stated that the competition for a new chairman will be announced soon.
The Supervisory Board also announces that it will soon launch a competitive selection for the position of permanent chairman of the board, as well as for all other current positions on the board. In connection with this competition and the need to maintain a total of five positions on the board, the Supervisory Board decided to start the process of creating new roles on the board to meet the current needs of the company,” the release said.
It is specified that it is proposed to create three new key positions at Energoatom:
- chief Operating Officer (COO),
- vice President for Governance and Ethics, and
- vice President for Finance and Strategy.
Pavlo Kovtoniuk, who is the CEO of Rivne NPP, will temporarily lead the company.
Pavlo Kovtoniuk: what is known about him
Pavlo Kovtoniuk has been working in the nuclear industry since 1977. Having worked his way up from an engineer to a top-level manager, he participated in the development of the Ukrainian nuclear power industry and the implementation of strategic projects in the field of nuclear and radiation safety.
“Energoatom in Kotin’s time
Kotin has been the head of Energoatom since 2020. His tenure included Covid, a full-scale war, and, accordingly, the occupation of ZNPP, blackouts, and certain political storms.
Among the key achievements of the manager are the following, confirmed by figures:
Increased electricity production. In 2024, Energoatom generated 53 billion kWh of electricity, which is 2% more than in 2023 and 12% more than in 2022. The company exceeded the plan and supplied 1 billion kWh more electricity to the grid.
Growth of the company’s revenues. In 2023, the company’s revenues from electricity sales increased by 30% (by UAH 44.0 billion) compared to the previous year, amounting to UAH 190.7 billion. Of these funds, more than UAH 124.4 billion was paid as part of the PSO, which allowed the company to completely abandon Russian fuel.
In addition, under Kotin, an agreement was signed with Westinghouse on the supply of nuclear fuel for Ukrainian NPPs, which reduced dependence on Russian fuel.
Challenges of the war
The biggest challenges of the nuclear industry in Kotin’s time – due to constant Russian missile attacks and damage to various facilities of the country’s energy infrastructure – were scheduled repairs of nuclear power plants, or rather, their extremely short timeframes. This allowed the country to avoid protracted blackouts, and such repairs were indeed carried out ahead of schedule.
A separate challenge of the war is the occupied ZNPP, which continues to pose serious security threats. However, Energoatom still has limited tools and ways to respond to them.
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Response of the Verkhovna Rada
The relevant energy committee of the Verkhovna Rada, as it turned out, was not aware of the intentions of the Supervisory Board and Kotin to resign. At least this follows from the statement of MP Oleksiy Kucherenko in an exclusive commentary
It seems to me that this decision was made very quickly. I would like to hear some arguments. The person is leaving the position of such a powerful energy company,” the politician says.
Kucherenko considers Kotin a professional person.
…on the one hand, I respect him as a professional person, he is a technician, a nuclear engineer, and has devoted his entire life to nuclear energy. On the other hand, we, and the PIC I chaired, also had comments on the financial indicators, reporting, cost, and so on. In general, I believe that the Government, as the main shareholder, should give explanations (on this personnel decision – ed.), and not shift it all to the Supervisory Board,” Kucherenko said.
The politician added that the number of Energoatom’s Supervisory Board, according to the Government’s announcement, should be increased from 5 to 7 people, although now there are only 4 representatives. And then it is possible to hold competitions for the head and management.
But in general, Kucherenko (not for the first time – ed.) criticizes the corporate governance reform of Energoatom, pointing out that the state should manage such strategic companies.
“I do not like this corporate governance reform, I do not accept it and do not believe that it has brought anything useful to energy companies,” the MP summarized.
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