By Markus Wacket
BERLIN (Reuters) -The German government wants to enshrine possible rescue measures for energy companies such as Uniper in its energy security law and may end up acquiring a stake in the company as a last resort, sources told Reuters on Monday.
The proposals underscored Germany’s scramble to deal with soaring energy prices and the knock-on effects on companies such as Uniper in an energy standoff between the West and Moscow after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
Uniper declined immediate comment, adding it was receiving around 40% of the normal amount of gas from Russia at the moment.
Amendments to the energy security law are currently being discussed among government ministries, the economy ministry said.
Those could also allow the government to quickly impose a special levy as a means of passing on soaring energy costs equitably, the sources said.
A possible bailout for Uniper could be modeled after pandemic relief for Lufthansa, which was saved from bankruptcy during the coronavirus pandemic with a 9 billion euro aid package, a source said.
“The federal government should be given options along the lines of the Lufthansa aid,” the source said.
Asked whether this could include taking a stake in Uniper, the sources said yes, but that would be a last resort.
Uniper is one of Russian Gazprom’s biggest European customers and is suffering from dwindling supplies.
(Reporting by Markus Wacket, writing by Matthias Williams, editing by Kirsti Knolle)
