You sell electricity and gas, but your customers should use it less? For Eneco’s new CEO As Tempelman, this is the path to the future. Tempelman, who studied at Erasmus School of Economics: “Renewable energy is not going fast enough”.
A Shell manager with a “true passion” for sustainability. That is how Eneco announced their new CEO As Tempelman. His arrival coincides with a new episode for the energy company, which was taken over by the Japanese companies Mitsubishi and Chubu a year ago. If Eneco wants to make one thing abundantly clear, it is that sustainability also comes first with Japanese owners.
“It is crucial to accelerate the energy transition,” is the first thing Tempelman says to NRC. On Thursday, Eneco presented its new strategy for the next five years. This has two spearheads: ensuring a lower energy bill for its customers, and lower CO2 emissions by those same customers.
In 2017 and 2018, Eneco's sustainable course led to a heated conflict between management, shareholders, works council and supervisory directors. The energy company, then still in the hands of dozens of Dutch municipalities, successfully presented itself as the forerunner of the three major energy suppliers - greener than its competitors Vattenfall (Nuon) and Essent. But would the shareholders choose a new owner who would continue on this course?
As Tempelman wants to leave no doubt about this during the conversation, in a hotel near Schiphol. “We really want to make the mission of sustainable energy a reality for everyone. It is not going fast enough, and Eneco wants to continue to play that leading role.”. Tempelman was responsible for Shell's gas activities in the Middle East and Asia until the summer. Sometimes his choice of words betrays that he only recently returned to the Netherlands after a long stay abroad.
In his interview with NRC, Tempelman talks about his passion for sustainability and Eneco’s plans for for the future. Read the full interview in Dutch here.
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As Tempelman studied Economics and Business Economics at Erasmus School of Economics. He graduated in 1996.
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