BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised Friday that he would help Uniper, the troubled energy company, after it asked for a bailout from the government to deal with the rising prices of natural gas because of the conflict in Ukraine.
Uniper stated in a statement that the “stabilization steps” it sought were to “stop the accumulation of substantial losses”, cover Uniper’s liquidity requirements, and protect Uniper’s investment grade credit rating.”
Scholz assured Scholz that Russia’s largest importer of Russian gas in Germany would receive support from the government.
During a visit at a Munich trade fair, he stated that “This company is of great importance to large parts of our economy and to many customers.” “Everyone can be certain: we will do our part to save Uniper,” he said.
According to the company, Fortum, a Finnish-based shareholder, is also in discussions with the German government “to address the negative effect of the current gas supply restrictions for Uniper.”
It stated that the proposal of Fortum includes Uniper’s restructuring, with the aim of establishing a security supply company under the control of the German government.
The government could buy a large stake in Uniper to keep it afloat, or pass higher buying costs on to consumers. Economy Minister Robert Habeck stated Friday that the next steps are still being considered.
He stated, “We won’t allow a systemically important company to become insolvent and cause turmoil on the global oil markets.” “We will act.”
Uniper last week downgraded its financial outlook, citing a sharp drop in Russian Gazprom’s gas deliveries in recent weeks. This has caused Uniper to purchase substitute supplies at substantially higher prices.
It stated at the time that Uniper could not yet pass on these extra costs. This results in significant financial burdens.
Germany activated the second stage of its three-stage emergency plan last month for gas supplies. The government would trigger the third stage to identify which companies and sectors gas suppliers must prioritize. This effectively amounts to state energy rationing.
——
Follow all AP stories on the fallout from the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.
