Biggest supplier of gas for
British business seeks to
distance itself from Russia
Gazprom Energy is considering a
rebrand as Britain’s biggest gas
supplier to business seeks to distance
itself from its Russian owners after the
invasion of Ukraine.
The Manchester-based business supplies more than a fifth of the gas used by
British companies, making it a crucial
part of the country’s energy system. It is
considering a subtle rebrand to GM&T,
the name of its UK parent, to increase its
chance of survival.
“The top management is keen but the
trouble is that it’s not a radical rebrand
so it’s unclear whether it will make
much difference,” said a person close to
the Kremlin-owned company.
Gazprom Energy was facing collapse
in March as companies shied away from
new contracts, prompting fears that its
30,000 corporate customers’ bills would
suddenly surge as they were on cheap
contracts negotiated years before
wholesale prices began to soar last
summer. As it struggled to find a buyer,
the government was on standby to put it
into special administration, a form of
quasi-nationalisation that would have
allowed Gazprom Energy to continue
supplying its customers.
But ministers believed that if they put
the company into special administration, and also agreed to honour customers’ low-cost contracts, it could have
cost taxpayers £4bn. The alternative of
allowing it to fail could have led to multiple business failures for which the government would risk being blamed.
The German government last month
temporarily took over its parent
Gazprom Germania, a trading, storage
and transmission business, securing its
immediate future. Berlin made the Federal Network Agency, Germany’s
national energy regulator, a trustee of
the company, until September 30.
The takeover means the future of
Gazprom Energy and its customers is
effectively in the hands of Berlin, as is a
large proportion of the European wholesale energy market and part of the global trade in liquefied natural gas.
The Federal Network Agency said it
was “essential” to ensure Gazprom Germania and its subsidiaries continued to
operate “in order to maintain Germany and Europe’s energy supply”. Gazprom
Energy declined to comment.
“It’s in Germany’s overwhelming
interest that banks, service providers
and business partners of Gazprom Germania GmbH and its subsidiaries can
continue their business operations with
these companies in the usual way and
without additional restrictions and
changes,” the agency said.
Berlin is not allowing Gazprom
Energy to take on new customers and it
continues to lose key staff. At least 15
staff have recently left the business,
some from its office in Manchester,
where it has about 270 employees.