(New: Uniper and Gazprom in paragraph 6 and 7)
BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – The situation at the ailing energy supplier Uniper is becoming increasingly threatening. On Monday, the group fully utilized a multi-billion credit line from the state development bank KfW and applied for additional funds. Negotiations with the federal government about a rescue package are ongoing. Uniper has come under pressure because of a throttling of Russian gas supplies through the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1.
The pipeline is currently being serviced until probably Thursday. The concern is that Russia will not turn on the gas tap again – that could also be due to a turbine. The result could be a lack of gas. The Federation of German Industries (BDI) demanded that the gas supply be reorganized in this case.
The supply is stable at the moment, as the Federal Network Agency wrote in its management report. Currently being saved. The memory level is 64.6 percent. At the beginning of the heating period, however, the storage tanks should be as full as possible. Uniper had announced that it had started withdrawing gas from its self-used storage facilities at the beginning of last week. This is done to conserve funds and to fulfill contracts.
The group has now fully utilized a KfW credit line of two billion euros. Uniper also announced that an application had been made to increase the credit line. The company has to buy more expensive gas on the market to fulfill contracts, which causes liquidity problems.
“In order to secure our liquidity and to fulfill our supply contracts with our customers, we are forced to take steps that clearly have to be described as emergency measures,” said CEO Klaus-Dieter Maubach. Originally, Uniper had agreed the KfW credit line at the beginning of January in view of the impending war in Ukraine and, as a precaution, extended it until the end of April 2023 at the end of March.
The Russian energy group GAZPROM justified the lack of deliveries to its customer Uniper with force majeure. Uniper received a letter from Gazprom Export, a spokesman for the utility said. Gazprom Export is a subsidiary of the Russian state-owned company. In the letter, Gazprom Export retrospectively asserted “force majeure” for the previous and current shortages. Uniper does not believe this to be justified and has rejected this claim.
“Force Majeure” is understood to mean an unforeseeable event coming from outside, which is beyond the control of the contracting parties. This can include, for example, war, natural disasters or pandemics, which mean that a service can only be performed inadequately or not at all.
Even before the current maintenance of Nord Stream 1, Gazprom had cut deliveries to 40 percent and justified this with a missing turbine. According to Gazprom, the reliable operation of Nord Stream 1 and the supply of European consumers depend on the turbine.
A spokeswoman for Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck said that because safety issues were concerned, she could not provide any information as to when and where the turbine would be. She referred to statements by Siemens Energy that everything was being done to ensure that the turbine was transported and used as quickly as possible.
According to everything the ministry knows and what experts have said, the turbine was used as an excuse, said spokeswoman Habecks. The turbine was a spare turbine intended for use in September. “Nevertheless, we are doing everything we can to take this pretext.”
In the event that Russia does not turn on the faucet again, a gas shortage with serious consequences for the German economy is feared. BDI President Siegfried Russwurm said that the current prioritization rules in the event of a shortage were created for the short-term interruption of individual lines: “Politicians in Berlin and Brussels must create new regulations for the tough new energy reality. All parts of society have to take this into account to take responsibility for their performance.”
Russwurm expects Germany to face a long-term gas shortage. Now every kilowatt hour saved on gas and electricity counts. “In addition to companies, municipalities and states, private consumers must become part of the massive energy saving campaign.”
Prioritization is the order in which private households and companies receive gas in the event of an acute shortage. According to an EU regulation and the German emergency plan, certain consumer groups should be supplied as far as possible. These include private households, social facilities such as hospitals and gas-fired power plants that also supply households with heat./hoe/DP/ngu
Leverage must be between 2 and 20
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