A new order in the German energy industry

If the extensive deal between E.ON and RWE goes through, “old rivals" will "become partners under the pressure of the energy transition” and create “a new order in the German energy industry” by organising a clear “division of labour”, Helmut Bünder writes in an opinion piece for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. E.ON CEO Johannes Teyssen “has chosen the risk-free path” by putting the focus on grids, where government regulation ensures dependable revenues, Bünder writes. RWE fully bets on power production from conventional sources and increasingly from renewables, but the company will be able to rely on the “very calculable” income from its minority stake in E.ON, Bünder writes.

Find the opinion piece in German here.

For background, read the CLEW dossier Utilities and the energy transition and the factsheet Germany’s largest utilities at a glance.