Coal power company Steag under pressure, looking for investor
Hard coal power station operator Steag, under pressure from strong wind energy production, is looking for a new investor after returning to profitability last year. Company CEO Joachim Rumstadt said at the annual press conference the company was looking to increase its capital, according to a FAZ report. Steag booked a profit of 59 million euros in 2017, following a loss of 220 million euros in 2016. The company is one of Germany’s largest conventional power generators, and is owned by a consortium of cash-strapped municipal utilities, which is why a capital increase would require a new investor.
Steag said it expected a slowdown in profit and sales in 2018, adding it was stepping up investments in renewables and decentral power generation to stop this trend, according to a report by news agency dpa carried by Die Welt. Steag closed an entire coal power station and another generating unit last year, which contributed two thirds to the entire power sector’s 2017 CO2 emissions decline, according to the company, which plans to close two further generating units this year. In January, hard coal power production almost halved year-on-year in Germany, while wind power almost doubled.
Find the company press release in English here.
Read the dpa report in German here.
Read a Reuters report on Steag in English here.
Find plenty of background in the dossier Utilities and the energy transition.