Fennovoima to change its organizational structure as part of development program

The purpose of the development program Fennovoima launched in late 2018 is to ensure the progress of the Hanhikivi 1 power plant project in accordance with the new timetable estimate. The development program’s main goals are: a safe plant and high-level safety planning, construction readiness and integrity of the technical design, high-quality implementation and supply chain performance, operational readiness and a strong safety culture.

As part of the development program, Fennovoima is changing its organizational structure by forming a new Utility Operations organization unit, effective 1 April 2019. Timo Okkonen (DrTech) has been appointed to head the unit. Timo Okkonen was previously the Chief Development Officer at Fennovoima and he continues as a member of the Management Team. The Utility Operations is responsible for assessing plant delivery safety, planning, implementation, and operational readiness.

Jouni Takakarhu (MScEng) was previously appointed as Acting Project Manager. Jouni Takakarhu will now take responsibility for heading the Project Management organization unit and will continue as a member of the Management Team. The task of the Project Management organization is to ensure the advancement of the plant delivery in accordance with the agreement and the timetable.

In terms of the support functions, there will be no significant organizational changes, with the exception of the Quality unit; its operations will be partly decentralized to other units. As part of the change, Olli Virtanen, Quality Director and member of the Management Team, will leave the company. At the same time, a new IT Management unit will be established and headed by Mikko Virtanen (MScEng), who was also appointed as a member of the Management Team. “The goal of the development program and the organizational change is to clarify responsibilities within the organization, improve collaboration with the plant supplier, and ensure our readiness to advance to the next phases in the project,” says Fennovoima’s President and CEO Toni Hemminki.

“Our development program is not just internal to Fennovoima, but applies to the entire Hanhikivi 1 project. We have discussed with the plant supplier about the changes expected on both Fennovoima’s and RAOS’s side”, Hemminki adds. “Both parties see that the changes should bring a positive message to the joint project.”