Another blow for Energoatom: Key US nuclear veteran exits as reform drive falters

A key supervisory board member quit Ukraine's troubled state nuclear energy company, amid broader reforms in the country's state-owned energy forms.

Patrick Fragman, the former CEO of U.S. nuclear energy firm Westinghouse Electric Company, resigned from his position at Energoatom, which operates Ukraine’s three working nuclear power plants, less than five months after being appointed to the board, the company announced on May 15.

The reason was the high workload on the supervisory board, which was much greater than initially planned and therefore incompatible with his "current and future activities," Fragman told the Kyiv Independent in a written comment.

Supervisory boards oversee the executive management of state-owned companies, which dominate Ukraine's energy, banking, and infrastructure sectors.

Fragman’s sudden departure has sparked speculation on social media, particularly after Energoatom was at the center of a $100 million corruption scheme last November involving key allies of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The company has been under intense scrutiny since, particularly from foreign partners.

Yaroslav Zhelezniak, a Ukrainian opposition lawmaker from the Holos party, said on his popular Telegram channel that Fragman, along with another independent member Brice Bohuon had submitted their resignations due to unpaid salaries.

The Kyiv Independent was not able to verify whether Brice Bohuon had stepped down as well. Fragman also told the Kyiv Independent that salaries were not the issue.

"It was planned from the start that salaries would be paid quarterly. There are indeed some small glitches, but we expect them to be resolved quickly," he said, without elaborating on what those glitches were.

Long associated with corruption and poor management, Energoatom’s new supervisory board — launched in January — has been trying to turn the company around. The board said it suspended an employee on May 11 after receiving information from law enforcement relating to potential criminal violations.

As part of the Energoatom's reforms, the board is currently tasked with finding a new CEO and management team — a process Zelensky said on May 6 must move forward urgently.

The corruption scandal pushed a politically weakened Zelensky to announce a reboot of state-run enterprises in the energy and defense sectors, including the reset of supervisory boards at 12 companies.

Those concerns intensified last week after leaked recordings tied to the Energoatom corruption scheme revealed that key suspects could have handpicked members of what was supposed to be an independent supervisory board at state-owned Sense Bank.

Nonetheless, supervisory boards are still favored by pro-European reformers and Ukraine's international partners, like the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

While the formation of Energoatom’s new supervisory board was relatively fast and smooth, with professional and respected appointees such as Fragman, other companies have moved more slowly.

The government only selected a new supervisory board for oil and gas giant Naftogaz in March, followed by hydropower firm Ukrhydroenergo in April.

Shortly after Zelensky’s May 6 call to action, Centrenergo, the national thermal power producer, announced a new CEO on May 11 who will oversee the repairs of its thermal power plants torn apart by Russian attacks.

On May 13, the government appointed two state representatives to the supervisory board of the national grid operator, Ukrenergo, and one state representative to the national gas transit operator’s board — although Kyiv is still searching for one more, the Economy Ministry’s press service told the Kyiv Independent on May 15.

A day later, Ukrhydroenergo’s revamped supervisory board appointed a new CEO as the company also faces massive reconstruction efforts to repair damaged plants before Russia launches another relentless bombing campaign against energy facilities.