Uniper’s Finnish owner should contribute to its rescue, German economy minister says

The Uniper logo is displayed at the company’s headquarters in Duesseldorf, Germany, July 8, 2022. REUTERS / Wolfgang Rattay

BERLIN, July 9 (Reuters) – Many partners of Uniper (UN01.DE), the Finnish power company Fortum, are expected to help save gas victims, German finance minister Robert Habeck said, as Germany struggles with its growth. a strong problem.

Uniper this week demanded that the German government repay the debt, warning losses due to falling prices from Russia and rising gas prices could reach 10 billion euros ($ 10.2 billion) this year as the Moscow-European economic crisis collapses. very. read more

“It belongs to someone else, who has solvents and is able to provide assistance,” Habeck, who is also the energy minister, told Deutschlandfunk radio in an interview. “So it is good to consider examples that the owners are responsible for.”

Uniper, Germany’s largest gas supplier and stock supplier, said Friday that Fortum (FORTUM.HE) had made a proposal in Berlin that included banning German state-owned businesses.

Germany, which has done well over the years with a steady flow of Russian cheap gas, is struggling to cope with the declining Siberian gas crisis.

Despite Russia’s criticism of the technical crisis over the suspension, Western governments say this is a fabrication and that Moscow is responding to sanctions imposed on it in connection with the Ukraine invasion.

Germany has allocated $ 15 billion to buy gas from elsewhere to ensure the reservoir of the gas is full of winter, but, in urging people to save energy, Habeck warned that if gas prices rise sharply that money would not be enough.

“Germans bathe for about 10 minutes,” he said. “And I think even five minutes is too long.”

In the past, some housing corporations have announced a reduction in the number of homes they rent, and Habeck added that regulations for a day-to-day workplace can be relaxed.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a video on Saturday that “questions about energy security are confusing us right now. It will continue to do so for weeks, months and years to come”.

($ 1 = 0.9820 euros)

Markus Wacket reports, by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise

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