RWE will replace the head of npower and the British supplier's finance chief, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, following long-standing billing problems and a loss of clients.
Paul Massara, npower's chief executive since January 2013, will be replaced by npower Chief Operating Officer Paul Coffey, who joined from the German utility company's renewables division Innogy earlier this year, the people said.
Npower Chief Financial Officer Jens Madrian will also step down from his post, the people said.
RWE, Germany’s largest electricity generator, today reported a 45% decline in full-year profits following a slump in power prices.
Recurrent net income, the measure used to calculate dividends, dropped to£915.4million in 2014, from £1.65billion a year earlier, the Essen-based company said. Sales fell 7.5% to £34.7billion.
German utility RWE yesterday closed the sale of oil and gas production arm RWE Dea to Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, ending months of uncertainty over whether the £3.7billion deal would go ahead.
But it causes embarrassment for the UK Government, which tried to block part of the transaction at the 11th hour, citing possible sanctions against the new owner.
It remains to be seen how Westminster will respond to RWE Dea’s UK North Sea assets – now owned by new company L1 Energy – falling into Russian hands.
