The ongoing managerial changes follow a fire at the company’s Kruemmel nuclear plant in Germany and a failure at its Brunsbuettel nuclear plant in the region, which sparked concerns over the company’s management of its nuclear assets.
Vattenfall said in a press release that Mr Rauscher had said that the events of the past few weeks had tarnished the image of Vattenfall Europe and that errors have been made for which he, as head of Vattenfall Europe, must bear responsibility.
Mr Rauscher had also said that the company must now regain the trust which has been lost, in particular with regard to its customers, shareholders and staff, quickly. The company said that Mr Rauscher had tendered his resignation in order not to get in the way of a new start.
Lars Josefsson, president and CEO of Vattenfall and chairman of the supervisory board of Vattenfall Europe, said: Under his leadership the company has developed to become a powerful competitor on the German energy market, and today the German business is a central force in the Vattenfall Group. Mr Josefsson added that he respects Mr Rauscher’s decision to step down from his post.
Hans-Jurgen Cramer from the German management team will assume the position as acting head of Vattenfall Europe.
