Press release

Yves Zumwald appointed to position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Swissgrid SA After overseeing network-management activities at Romande Energie Group for the past four years, Yves Zumwald will take over operational management of the national VHV grid at Swissgrid SA as of 1 April 2014. We would like to congratulate him on this promotion and look forward to capitalising on his enterprising legacy.

Morges, 20 August 2013

Yves Zumwald joined Romande Energie on 1 September 2009 as head of the Distribution business unit and member of the Group's Executive Board. Since then he has made a significant contribution to the expansion and optimisation of the business unit, which today has over
400 employees spread across six different departments.
He was notably responsible for restructuring network management procedures with a view to reducing operating costs. He also increased revenue from network services sold to third parties and business partners (asset and grid management, engineering, construction, maintenance and legal support) and developed new business through deployment of an optical fibre network. All of these measures have helped give a tangible expression to Romande Energie Group's goal of offering customers nationally competitive distribution tariffs while ensuring a high-quality supply of power. He has also helped forge and strengthen alliances with other grid managers in French-speaking Switzerland as well as promoting Romande Energie's participation in the innovatory work of the Swiss Smart Grid federation.
Yves Zumwald is being hired as COO by Swissgrid SA, which is responsible for the management, modernisation and extension of Switzerland's transmission grid, with effect from
1 April 2014. He will be responsible for grid management and will sit on the company's Executive
Board. Correspondingly, he has announced that he will leave his present position at Romande
Energie on 31 March at the latest.
The Board of Directors and Executive Board are sorry to lose such a popular and preeminent corporate officer but are nonetheless proud that the interests of Western Switzerland will have board-level representation at the national grid operator. They are moreover delighted that his broad expertise is being acknowledged and put to good use. We would like to thank him for his dedication over the past four years and wish him every success in his future professional endeavours.
To ensure continuity, the search for a successor is beginning immediately.
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Notes 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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Contact Karin Devalte

Head of Communications
Tel.: +41 (0)21 802 95 67
Mobile: +41 (0)79 386 47 67

Email: karin.devalte@romande-energie.ch

Romande Energie Group 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 (representing a catchment population of over 500,000 people) in over 300 municipalities in the cantons of Vaud, Valais, Fribourg and Geneva. Its core businesses are the production, distribution and marketing of electricity. The Group's priorities are to provide customers with high-quality services and guarantee reliable, competitively priced electricity supplies on a long-term basis; to expand its own-power production by investing primarily in new renewable energy sources; and to promote innovative solutions in the field of energy efficiency.

For more information on Romande Energie Group visit www.romande-energie.ch

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