Romande Energie : Pierre-Alain Urech, CEO, to retire in late-2019

Press release

Morges, September 6, 2018

Pierre-Alain Urech, CEO, to retire in late-2019

Pierre-Alain Urech (1955), CEO of Romande Energie Holding SA since June 2004, has informed the Board of Directors that he plans to take early retirement as of 30 September 2019 to facilitate the integration of his successor in the Group's new set-up, implementation of which is due to be completed in late 2019. From 2020, Mr Urech wishes to spend more time with his family and on his directorships.

In 2017, Mr Urech set out new strategic goals for the 2018-2023 period that would enable Romande Energie to continue expanding and adapting its services to the latest needs and expectations of its customers in today's changing energy environment. The Board of Directors has approved these goals. To ensure that they succeed and to help Romande Energie remain agile in handling the digital developments in its markets, Mr Urech recently outlined to the Board of Directors a blueprint for a new Group set-up, implementation of which is due to be completed by the end of 2019. Plans include a new management structure and the transformation of the head office building in order to make workstations fully digital and significantly reduce operating costs.

Mr Urech will celebrate his 65th birthday in 2020. He has informed the Board of Directors of Romande Energie Holding SA that he wishes to take early retirement on 30 September 2019, 15 months before the official retirement age. He is doing so because he wants to help his successor take his or her place in the Group's new organisational structure as quickly as possible. He also wishes to spend more time with his family and on the directorships that he may continue in the coming years.

The Chairman as well as the entire Board of Directors of Romande Energie Holding SA regrettably accept Mr Urech's decision to step down from his executive role in autumn 2019 but fully agree with his reasoning that this will lead to the smoothest possible transition at the top of the Group. The Board would already like to take this opportunity to thank him for his outstanding professionalism, tireless dedication, high standards and sizeable achievements in his more than 14 years as CEO of Romande Energie. The Board of Directors pays tribute to Mr Urech as a business leader who is popular with directors and employees alike and who is held in high esteem by other people with whom he has dealings. Under his leadership, the Romande Energie Group has not only generated excellent financial results but has successfully made the transition from power utility to energy services provider. Today Romande Energie offers a range of new services encompassing building innovation and energy efficiency. The Group has also readied itself for full market deregulation and made the necessary changes so that it can fully assist customers in transitioning their energy sources, in keeping with the targets set out under Switzerland's Energy Strategy 2050.

Mr Urech will continue to lead the Romande Energie Group as CEO over the next 13 months. He has made it known that, after 2019, he will be available to continue directorships in the companies in which the Group has equity stakes.

The Board of Directors is now moving ahead with the recruitment of Romande Energie's next CEO.

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Note to editorial desks

This press release is being issued outside the trading hours of the SIX Swiss Exchange as required by the SIX Listing Rules on ad hoc publicity.

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Media contacts

Mr Guy Mustaki, Board Chairman, Romande Energy Holding SA, Tel.: [phone]

Mr Pierre-Alain Urech, CEO, Tel.: [phone]

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Romande Energie at a glance

Romande Energie Group is the leading electricity distributor in Western Switzerland. Through its subsidiary Romande Energie Commerce, it supplies more than 300,000 end-customers directly in approximately 300 municipalities in the cantons of Vaud, Valais, Fribourg and Geneva. Its core business lines are the generation, distribution and marketing of power, alongside energy services.

Priorities are liaising with customers to ensure high-quality services in line with expectations; guaranteeing a reliable, sustainable and competitive supply of energy; developing proprietary power generation through priority investments in renewable energy; and promoting innovative energy-efficiency solutions.

Romande Energie's corporate social responsibility policy systematically guides its approach to business.

For more information on Romande Energie Group, visitwww.romande-energie.ch