BERLIN, Sept 21 — Germany nationalised gas importer Uniper today and Britain capped wholesale electricity and gas prices for businesses, as Europe splurged cash to keep the lights and heaters on this winter amid an escalating war in Ukraine.
Russian cuts to gas supply to Europe in retaliation for Western sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine have left utilities exposed to sky-high spot prices as the scramble for alternative supplies has helped drive up consumer bills. More than 20 British power providers have collapsed, many crumbling because a government price cap prevented them from passing on soaring prices.
“Governments with more fiscal space will inevitably better manage the energy crisis by outcompeting their neighbours for limited energy resources over the winter months.”German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, announcing the Uniper move and other steps to help Germany avoid energy rationing this winter, said: “The state will... do everything possible to always keep the companies stable on the market.
The German government has already put Gazprom Germania, a unit of Kremlin-controlled Gazprom, and a subsidiary of Russian oil company Rosneft under trusteeship — a de facto nationalisation. Adding Uniper’s bailout, the bill amounts to about €40 billion .