Germany’s Uniper on brink after using up €2bn gas loan

THE German gas giant Uniper has burnt through an emergency €2bn (£1.7bn) loan in just six months as it battles for survival amid an escalating energy crisis.

The company, which is Europe’s largest buyer of Russian gas, agreed the credit facility with state-owned lender KFW Group at the turn of the year.

It said the step had been taken in reaction to “continuing supply disruptions of Russian gas and the associated developments on the energy markets and exchanges”.

But in a statement yesterday, KFW said Uniper had used the loan “in full” and had submitted a request to extend the line of credit.

It comes as Uniper is locked in negotiations with the German government over a potential bailout to help it survive the deepening energy crisis.

Reduced gas supplies from Russia have forced the energy group to turn to the more expensive spot market to supply its customers, saddling it with extra costs and pushing its finances to the brink. Uniper has previously said it “cannot endure for long” under current conditions as it haemorrhages tens of millions of euros each day. The talks have also drawn in Finnish parent company Fortum, which is majority owned by the government in Helsinki.

Options include the German government taking a stake in Uniper, while the company has urged officials to activate legal provisions that would allow it to “pass on” surging costs to consumers.

Fortum has proposed that Uniper should be restructured to bring together its system-critical services in a “supply company under the ownership of the German government”. The crisis last week forced Uniper to start withdrawing gas supplies saved for winter.

Klaus-dieter Maubach, chief executive of Uniper, said: “We are forced to take steps that must clearly be described as emergency measures.”

A spokesman for Germany’s economy ministry said Berlin was working “urgently” with the company and Fortum to find a solution.

A decision on a potential bailout is expected by the end of the month.