Habeck advances preparations in case of an energy crisis

BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) is stepping up preparations in the event of a severe energy crisis in Germany. A planned amendment to the Energy Security Act provides that, in the event of a crisis, companies that operate critical energy infrastructure can be placed under trustee administration. In extreme cases, expropriation is also possible, but the law already provided for that. The amendment went to the departmental vote on Tuesday. First, the newspapers of the Funke media group reported about it.

The German Press Agency learned from circles in the ministry that it was about ensuring security of supply and ensuring the ability to act quickly in the event of a crisis. The ministry is therefore planning an amendment to the 1975 Energy Security Act. At the time, the law was a reaction to the oil crisis.

What is new is that companies that operate critical energy infrastructures can be placed under trusteeship if necessary – if they are no longer able to perform their duties adequately and there is a risk of the security of supply being impaired.

The Economics Ministry had recently appointed the Federal Network Agency as a trustee for the German subsidiary of the Russian state-owned company GAZPROM – on the basis of foreign trade law. Habeck justified this with unclear legal relationships and a violation of reporting regulations. In the Energy Security Act, a new legal basis for trust management is to be created that is independent of the special requirements of foreign trade law./hoe/DP/jha