Düsseldorf,
22
February
2018
|
00:00
Europe/Berlin

Kiel joint-venture power plant to remain on the grid for an additional year

  • Uniper reaches agreement with Stadtwerke Kiel AG on continued operation until the end of March 2019
  • Roughly 80 jobs secured for another year

The joint-venture power plant in Kiel (Gemeinschaftskraftwerk Kiel, GKK) will remain on the grid until March 31, 2019. The agreements necessary to make this happen were signed today by representatives from both partners, Stadtwerke Kiel AG and Uniper Kraftwerke GmbH. The majority of the 97 employees with GKK had previously expressed their approval in principle for keeping the plant operating a year longer. Extending operations requires that modifications be made to individual GKK employment contracts.

The joint-venture plant was to be shut down on March 31, 2018 and was to be replaced by Stadtwerke Kiel’s new gas-powered co-generation plant. Late last year, however, it was determined that the project would be delayed by several months. The new plant was originally scheduled to begin supplying power and district heating for the 2018/19 heating season. Extending the operation of the GKK plant proved to be the best alternative. The GKK plant is a coal-fired facility with a capacity of 323 megawatts.

Uniper board member and COO Eckhardt Rümmler welcomed the agreement: “We are pleased that the plant will remain in operation for another year, thereby protecting an estimated 80 jobs for that period. The flexibility demonstrated by the staff at the site is what made this solution possible. The Kiel site is near and dear to us. The teams here possess outstanding technical skills. The high level of availability the plant was able to provide last year is evidence of the great work being done here. We enjoy a long- standing partnership of trust with the public utilities here, and we are glad to be able to help ensure a supply of district heating to the city of Kiel.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Uniper SE Management and other information currently available to Uniper. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. Uniper SE does not intend, and does not assume any liability whatsoever, to update these forward-looking statements or to modify them to conform with future events or developments.

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