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Uniper to temporarily shut down 2 gas-fired power plants in Germany

Uniper SE has notified regulators in Germany that it intends to temporarily shut down two gas-fired power plants from October 2020 to September 2021 because of uneconomic market conditions.

"According to current market assessments, there are still no suitable framework conditions for highly efficient gas-fired power plants to continue operating economically beyond autumn 2020," Uniper said in a Sept. 25 release.

The affected plants are Irsching 4 and 5. The utility has a majority 50.2% stake in the 846-MW Irsching 5, which is co-owned by N-ERGIE AG with 25.2%, Mainova AG with 15.6% and Entega AG with 9%. The facility was placed in service in 2010, and has an efficiency of 59.7%.

Meanwhile, Uniper is the sole owner of the the 561-MW Irsching 4 plant, commissioned in 2011 and considered one of the most efficient gas-fired power plants in the world with an efficiency of 60.4%.

Both power plants are only used when their output is needed to stabilize the grid in southern Germany and, hence, fall under the grid reserve regulation.

Uniper is notifying federal network agency BNetzA and network operator TenneT of the plants' provisional closure for a fourth time, according to the Sept. 25 release.