The Monopolies Commission describes the takeover of the utility Uniper by the federal government as politically understandable. But the way must lead back to the competition, warns the committee. Uniper is a test case for this.
The Monopolies Commission sees competition in danger after the multi-billion dollar nationalization of the natural gas supplier Uniper. In view of the general situation, the nationalization of Uniper is “politically understandable,” said commission chairman Jürgen Kühling of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. However, the aim should not be “to permanently create a state gas monopoly”.
“We then have to get back to competition,” said Kühling, whose commission advises the federal government on competition issues. “Uniper is also a test case for how competition can later be restored in some areas.” The head of the Monopolies Commission warned against “statist over-optimism”.
Uniper supplies wholesale customers such as municipal utilities and industrial companies with electricity and gas. So far, the company has obtained most of its gas from Russia. After these deliveries failed, the company had to bear high costs for procuring replacements and ran into financial difficulties. State aid worth billions since July has not been enough to provide support. The federal government therefore decided on Wednesday to nationalize it.
