The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
Uniper SE warned it may have to cut output at two key
coal-fired power plants in Germany as the company struggles to get fuel supplies along the Rhine River, exacerbating an energy crunch that has threatened to push the continent’s largest economies into recession.
Water levels on the Rhine have fallen so low that the river may effectively close soon. There could be “irregular operation†at Uniper’s 510-megawatt Staudinger-5 plant until early September and at 1,000 megawatt
Datteln-4 because of limited
volumes of coal on site.
German power for next year climbed to a record 410.57 euros ($418.31) per megawatt-hour on the European Energy Exchange. Futures for next month eased, though they’re still trading about eight times higher than usual for the time of year.
Europe is facing its worst energy crisis in decades as Russia curbs natural gas supplies amid heightened tensions over its invasion of Ukraine.
The restriction of movement on one of the continent’s most important rivers, compounded by climate change, could disrupt the flow of everything from fuel to chemicals as nations rush to stockpile fuel ahead of winter.