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Aug 22 (Reuters) - German utility Uniper SE on Monday said it will start producing electricity for the market at its Heyden 4 hard-coal-fired power plant as a three-day halt in Russia's gas supplies to Europe may cause disruptions to power supply.
Heyden 4 will start producing electricity from Aug. 29, until April 30, 2023, the utility said in a statement.
The "envisaged operation of Heyden 4 will be restricted due to limitations on the rail transportation capacity of hard coal to the site, which might get lifted once additional transportation capacity becomes available," Uniper said in a statement.
The headquarters of Gazprom, in Moscow, June 27, 2014. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin (Reuters/Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters)
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In December 2020, Uniper announced that Heyden 4 would stop commercial production as Germany's energy regulator included it on the list of plants that may be shut in return for compensation to fight carbon pollution.
Since mid-2021, Heyden 4 has supported the electricity system as a reserve power plant, but has not produced any electricity for the market.
The Industrial Park of Hoechst is pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, June 23, 2022. Germany activated the second phase of its three-stage emergency plan for natural gas supplies saying the country faces a "crisis" and warning that storage targ (AP Photo/Michael Probst / AP Images)
Shares in Uniper, Germany's top importer of Russian gas, declined 7.7% to hover near a record low as worries about tightening gas supplies from Russia weighed on investors' minds.
Russia will halt natural gas supplies to Europe for three days at the end of the month, energy giant Gazprom said on Friday, piling pressure on the continent as it seeks to refuel ahead of winter.
Construction work is being carried out on the lock island in Brunsbuettel, northern Germany, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. Europe is scrambling to reduce its natural gas dependence on Russia. Governments are rolling out plans for new gas imports and pipeli (Frank Molter/dpa via AP / AP Newsroom)
This move by Russia is likely to further cause disruptions, particularly for Germany, as it depends largely on deliveries from Moscow to power its industry.
(Reporting by Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Ann Maria Shibu; Editing by Mark Porter and Cynthia Osterman)