Allocation to consumers planned
Uniper costs 6.2 billion to buy a replacement
7/22/2022, 5:26 p.m
Since Russia is throttling gas, the energy company Uniper has to find replacements at astronomical prices. In order to give him financial freedom, the federal government allows him to pass on burdens to customers. The company is now declaring that it will need billions by the end of September.
The energy company Uniper will face further burdens in the billions in the coming weeks. Klaus-Dieter Maubach said at a press conference in Dusseldorf in the afternoon that he estimated the costs for the replacement procurement volumes by the end of August at 4.5 billion euros. September would cost another 1.7 billion euros. The federal government’s allocation procedure should then take effect. Chancellor Olaf Scholz had announced a surcharge to all gas customers. The levy will come on October 1st or September 1st.
With the levy, Uniper should be able to pass on price increases and thus get some breathing room financially. The federal government explained to Uniper during the negotiations that from October 1st, a general mechanism for passing on 90 percent of the replacement procurement costs for all importers as a result of Russian gas cuts should be introduced.
The federal government launched a billion-euro rescue package for the troubled energy company. Uniper is of “outstanding importance” for Germany’s economic development, said Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the presentation of the package in Berlin. The state is raising up to 15 billion to stabilize the group, which is experiencing difficulties due to the lack of gas deliveries from Russia.
Gazprom and Uniper are heading towards litigation
Uniper is an international energy group that sells electricity and gas to wholesale customers such as municipal utilities and industrial companies. It is heavily involved in gas trading with Russia and has run into financial difficulties as a result of the current gas crisis. Two weeks ago, the company applied for state aid.
In addition, Uniper is preparing for a legal dispute with its Russian supplier Gazprom. “Of course we will try – for the benefit of our company – to hold Gazprom liable for the damage we suffer,” said Uniper boss Klaus-Dieter Maubach in Düsseldorf. “It’s probably going to be a legal battle.” Gazprom had cut back its deliveries to Uniper.
This forced the German group to buy gas from other suppliers at high prices, resulting in high losses. Gazprom is obviously also preparing for a legal dispute – the Russian group had asserted force majeure for reduced gas deliveries to Uniper. Uniper had already rejected this claim, which companies usually use to protect themselves against lawsuits. “It is unbearable for us that we suffer losses (…) permanently,” said Maubach.
Municipal companies want protective shields
The Association of Municipal Companies (VKU) welcomed the state entry into Uniper, but called for further steps. “By ensuring the company’s ability to act and supporting gas prices at the import level, the federal government also protects end customers,” said VKU boss Ingbert Liebing. The supply of the municipal utilities and municipal energy suppliers is thus secured and the burden on consumers can be reduced.
However, the federal government should also protect municipal utilities and municipal energy suppliers with an additional protective shield, the VKU demanded. The surcharge for gas customers is a viable option, but it must cover all of the price increases that can be passed on. The federal government should definitely implement the levy before autumn and, above all, stretch it out so that customers are not overwhelmed.
Kerstin Andreae, Chair of the Executive Board of the Federal Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), said it was right that the federal government started right at the beginning of the gas supply chain. The ability of gas importers to act must be secured at very short notice in the event of gas supply cuts. “Domino effects in the energy market must be avoided under all circumstances, otherwise the security of energy supply cannot be maintained.”
Linke: “Slap in the face of the taxpayer”
The service union Verdi welcomed the rescue package. “This decision stabilizes the energy supply in Germany and Europe,” explained Verdi board member Christoph Schmitz. “In this crisis, the state must do everything possible to prevent the system from collapsing,” said Michael Vassiliadis of the industrial union IGBCE.
The environmental organization Greenpeace is more critical of the Uniper rescue. Security of supply is important, “but with this billion-dollar investment, the federal government is also taking responsibility for Uniper’s business,” the environmentalists warned. Berlin must now influence the company’s climate-damaging decisions.
Sharp criticism came primarily from the left. The rescue package is a “slap in the face to taxpayers and consumers,” said parliamentary group leader Dietmar Barsch to the editorial network Germany. Above all, the left criticizes the fact that the federal government wants to allow Uniper and all other companies that import gas from Russia to pass on additional costs incurred by procuring gas from other sources to their customers by October 1 at the latest.
This would ultimately increase gas prices for end consumers, said Scholz. It could be that a family of four would then have to pay 200 to 300 euros more per year. In addition to joining Uniper, the Chancellor therefore announced another relief package, including a housing benefit reform.