German gas giant Uniper nationalized amid spiraling energy costs | DW News

The German government is to become the majority shareholder in Uniper. As Germany's largest gas importer, the company has burned through cash reserves after Russia cut off supplies. The German government will acquire a 99% stake in the ailing gas importer Uniper, as Russia's gas supply freeze threatened to drive the company into bankruptcy.

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[jannepeltonen]

Privatize the profits, nationalize the losses. That's what always happens.

[thegreatdane]

a few stats to better understand the energy crisis:
- EU's total gas consumption in 2021 was 412 bcm, russia provided 155 bcm.
- Gas imports from other countries are expected to increase by at least 50 bcm in 2022. So without any gas from russia, there would be a shortage of 105 bcm, or roughly 25% compared to 2021.
-Natural gas accounts for 32% of EU's final energy consumption. So without any gas from russia, there would be an energy shortage of 8% compared to 2021.

This is assuming that demand will stay the same, that we don't try to increase output from other energy sources and that russia didn't provide any gas at all this year. And that is not the case.
- Russia provided a lot of gas in the first half of the year, and they are still sending gas through the pipelines in Ukraine.
- Gas consumption in the first 8 months of 2022 was 15% lower than last year.
- Coal imports are up 35%, and domestic production has increased too.

The point is, there is no actual shortage yet. And if we continue to consume 15% less gas, then there shouldn't be a shortage. The problem is to make sure that people can actually afford the energy. If prices remain this high for the rest of the year, then we will most likely end up with an energy surplus instead of a shortage.

[anburs]

DW: Energy companies going to bankrupt, industries shut

West: well done Germany..

[amoaubrey]

You can't take Russian currency reserves in Euro's and expect them to continue to fulfill their contracts

[mena-news]

"State ownership is not efficient"! Because Private ownership is more efficient or more lucrative? 🤦🏻‍♂️

[alvarortega]

The Greeks now should send a Troika over to school the Germans on energy policies...

[necromancer]

They insist that privatizing energy is still the best course of action and is the most efficient. But when shiet hits the fan it's always governments that have to bail out these companies. The companies enjoy huge profits during easy time but when things get rough it's the people who has to pay for the losses.

[TreDogOfficial]

From a Geo-Strategic point of view, it's kind of strange that, after world war 2, Germany would eventually become so reliant on Russia's energy resources.

China, with a population of over a billion people, gets 55% from coal, 20% from petrol, about 8% from hydroelectric, and only 8% from natural gas.

People don't like the idea of coal. But they really don't like the reality of a cold winter.

But at least global warming is gonna ramp up any day now, right?

[ANTheWhizkid]

This was a good decision. I highly support the idea to not pump endless amounts of money into bankrupt companies. Our experiences with for example the banking sector in Germany had been enough. Nationalizing such companies is right… and hopefully what the Deutsche Bahn will face any day in the future too.

[Pougie]

They never talk about switching to solar, wind, kinetic, etc. energy as a way to offset or eliminate the need for gas/oil. That would be the true path to energy independence - eco-friendly and diversify your energy portfolio.

[AaronOkeanos]

Good. That way the price-setting can be controlled and the profits stay in the ownership of the people and not flow to some obscure offshore account in a tax-paradise.

[prof.puggle]

proves it once again, that there's no such thing as a short cut...

[pauljohnson]

You act like this is a good thing. The government taking over private business is about the worst outcome possible.

[she]

Germany has really dug itself a hole. Sad to see Germany be led down this path.

[fienmaes]

So, Uniper is bankrupt completely. What happened?

[wsurfer]

Germany's prosperity was helped by cheap Russian gas. Now it bites the hands that feed it and reap the consequence.

[laurentdrozin]

I wonder how efficient it is to build your entire system on a single source? That was maybe cheaper, but efficient? Who pocketed the money when the gas was cheap? Who has now to pay the price when the system collapses? I see the same pattern in my industry. 20years ago or so, the old breed of managers with engineering background were replaced by a new sort, of the bean counting persuasion. The redundancies were identified and eliminated, until we are now left with a barebone infrastructure, ready to fall apart at the first opportunity. In a meantime, enormous profits were generated, most of which were collected by a select few.

[jayrenee]

Makes me wonder why we can't do this during non-emergency times in other countries.

[raspberries]

Stop the rise of energy prices. Give the energy prices of 2021 back. For European politicians the well-being and comfort of Europeans MUST BE much more important than Ukraine!!!

[simplicius]

Heh...and they 'nationalized' a Gazprom subsidiary company...without gas ))