Federal government paves the way for entry into gas companies

Berlin The traffic light coalition have agreed on a legal regulation for the state to get involved in troubled energy supply companies. According to information from coalition circles, a corresponding proposal by the Federal Ministry of Economics, the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Chancellery met with approval in the traffic light groups. The regulation is to be passed by the Bundestag this week, the last week of the Bundestag session before the summer break.

The background to this is the massive upheaval on the energy markets, particularly on the natural gas market. Just a few days ago, Uniper knocked on the door of the federal government and asked for state aid. The Düsseldorf-based energy group is Germany’s largest importer of gas from Russia. Because Russia has drastically reduced its gas supplies to Uniper, the company can only meet its supply obligations by purchasing on the spot market. The gas traded there is considerably more expensive. Experts estimate that Uniper loses up to 900 million euros a month.