Berlin takes an energy into its own hands

Sergey Kondratiev, Deputy Head of the Economic Department of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to the Kommersant newspaper about the nationalization of the European energy companies.

Uniper announced on September 20 that it is finalizing negotiations with the German government on a package that will include an increase in capital by €8 billion. As a result, the total package of state loans and assistance and Uniper's equity will amount to about €29 billion.

In the coming months, following Uniper, we may see the nationalization of other large energy and trading companies, including the German VNG AG and SEFE GmbH (formerly Gazprom Germania), the British Centrica, the French EdF, the Czech CEZ, Sergey Kondratiev from the Institute for Energy and Finance believes. In his opinion, the nationalization will not necessarily be associated with the deterioration of the financial situation in these companies, but also with the desire of governments to gain control over their operations and energy prices.