RWE CEO Peter Terium to switch jobs to head new entity - report

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The chief executive of struggling German utility RWE, Peter Terium, will switch jobs to become the head of RWE's renewables, networks and retail division which will be split off, leaving the top job at RWE to his deputy and Chief Operating Officer Rolf Martin Schmitz, newspaper Rheinische Post reported. The paper also cited company sources as saying that RWE, which is due to report full-year results on March 8, plans to take an impairment charge of more than 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion), mainly due to write-downs at the utility's large power plants. Citing unnamed supervisory board sources, the paper said the executive board and RWE's chairman-designate Werner Brandt have agreed on the job moves, while the supervisory board, which is to convene on March 3, has yet to sign off on the decision. An RWE spokeswoman said the company does not comment on speculation. Reeling from a crisis in fossil fuel-based power generation, RWE is in the process of pooling its renewables, networks and retail divisions into a new entity. In December, it unveiled plans to separately list a 10 percent stake in the units in a split-off from power generation at large coal, gas and nuclear plants, which are suffering from record low wholesale market prices, tepid demand and a rise in rivalling renewable energy. (Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)