Electricity and gas company: Energy prices weigh on Uniper's results

The German government wants to privatize the electricity and gas company Uniper. Management expects shrinking profits – and fears that its climate-damaging coal-fired power plants will have to run for longer.

It is the end of an era: Great Britain was a pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, and this was fuelled by coal. But last September the very last coal-fired power station on the island near Nottingham was taken offline for the sake of the climate. Instead, the British are now investing in wind and nuclear power. The shut down plant belongs to the Düsseldorf-based gas and electricity company Uniper . The company also wants to shut down its other coal-fired power stations by 2029. In Germany, however, this will probably not be possible, because the Federal Network Agency is forcing the company to keep individual blocks as reserves until 2031. If electricity becomes scarce, they are intended to stabilise the grid.