Board of Italy's Terna to meet on CEO severance pay, source says

Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale SpA

20/04/2026 14:09

MILAN, April 20 - Italy's state-controlled power grid operator Terna TRN.MI will hold an extraordinary board meeting in the next few days to discuss the severance pay of its outgoing CEO, a source close to the company told Reuters on Monday.

Giuseppina Di Foggia has been nominated as chair of Eni ENI.MI by the Italian government, but is unwilling to give up a 7.3 million euro ($8.6 million) severance package from Terna.

Terna's board met on Monday, but did not discuss her case, the source said. On Sunday, Italy's economy ministry said it was against state-backed groups paying severance packages to executives whose terms expire or who resign voluntarily.

The issue must be resolved before May 6, when Eni holds its shareholders' meeting. By then, Di Foggia must step down as Terna's chief executive to take up the new role.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue is private, said Di Foggia's contract did not include a clause preventing her from receiving severance pay at the end of the mandate or in case of an early resignation.

The dispute is politically awkward for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government, at a time when rising energy costs due to the Iran war weigh on households and firms.

Italy's Treasury owns a 29.85% stake in Terna through state lender CDP. The ministry and CDP also control Eni with a combined 33.1% shareholding.

($1 = 0.8500 euros)

(Reporting by Giancarlo Navach, editing by Alvise Armellini and Alexander Smith)