“What we will learn from these months of lockdown is how to make living in cities more sustainable, less congested, more friendly and more human. We are committed to bringing this experience into our workforce.”

Francesco Starace, CEO, Enel

When Enel’s CEO spoke at a U.N. Global Compact event (COVID-19: Sustainable Finance and the Future of the Global Economy) on April 21, the focus was on people. When the coronavirus reached Europe, it hit hard in Italy, the global energy company's base, Enel’s response was swift. “We had 37,000 of our 70,000 employees working from home across 21 different geographies within 10 days,” Starace explained.

The agility demonstrated by Enel offers lessons in preparation and adaptation in the face of crisis and economic downturns. As the global installation of renewable energy falls for the first time in two decades, Enel remains on track to boost its renewables capacity to 60 GW in 2022, from the current 46 GW, while phasing out coal-fired capacity by 2030, and aiming for complete decarbonization of its operations and production by 2050. “We commissioned 800 MW of renewable capacity (in the first half of 2020) paving the way for a new record delivery for yearly installations,” Starace stated during Enel’s announcement of its first half (H1) financial results for 2020.

Enel’s H1 2020 coal production was down 72% and renewables production was up 9% from a year ago, with more than 3,000 MW of renewable capacity added in one year. Despite H1’s numerous challenges, Enel’s net ordinary net income was up 6%. It also confirmed its dividend policy, with a minimum dividend per share for 2020 that will increase at least by 7% compared with 2019.

“Fossil fuel [demand] was already dropping, we anticipated that, but this [pandemic] has accelerated it,” Starace explained. “We had a 2020-2030 scenario developed, and it’s telling us to accelerate, not decelerate the development of renewable energy and the digital transformation of the networks. It’s what we need if we want to transform the way we live.”

In fact, Enel has accelerated its decarbonization process. On May 28, it announced the decision to close the Bocamina coal-fired power plant in Chile ahead of schedule. Units Bocamina I and Bocamina II will close by December 31, 2020 and by May 31, 2022, respectively. Previously, the plan was to close Bocamina I by the end of 2023 and Bocamina II in 2040. According to Enel, this operation will allow it to be the first power company in Chile to exit the coal sector completely.

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