FirstFT: Germany energy export warnings spell cold winter ahead

Germany may have to slash electricity exports to France and other countries this winter to prevent a breakdown of its power grid, a senior executive of the country’s largest grid operator has warned.

Hendrik Neumann, chief technical officer of Amprion, the largest of the country’s four power grid operators, said a temporary halt could become necessary to avoid electricity shortages and bottlenecks. However, he said such a scenario was a “last resort” and was likely to be for a matter of hours, rather than days.

The warning comes amid heightened tensions over Berlin’s response to the energy crisis, with some EU states saying the €200bn “protective shield” for German businesses and consumers announced last week risked undermining European unity. Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, said yesterday that the energy support package amounted to “cannibalism”.

Any outage or reduction of German electricity exports may worsen supply shortages in France, where almost half of the country’s 56 nuclear power plants are currently off the grid.

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Five more stories in the news

1. Kwasi Kwarteng to bring forward debt-cutting plan The UK chancellor is to accelerate the publication of his medium-term fiscal plan to this month in an attempt to reassure markets after he was forced to make a humbling U-turn on part of his “mini” Budget. The rapid climbdown followed widespread anger and the threat of a parliamentary revolt.

2. Ukraine breaks through Kherson front line Ukrainian forces have broken through the front lines in one of the four regions Russia’s president Vladimir Putin annexed last week. But Kyiv warned that it is being “squeezed by uncertainty” over EU cash flows. Follow the latest with our visual guide to the war.

3. Arm loses 40% of UK staff gained in SoftBank years The UK chip designer has shed 40 per cent of the staff numbers it recruited as part of a pledge by its owner, Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, to the British government, following concerns that its nexus of power is shifting abroad.

4. Credit Suisse CDS hit record as shares tumble The cost of buying insurance against Credit Suisse defaulting on its debt soared to a record level yesterday, as the Swiss lender failed to calm market jitters about the strength of its balance sheet. Just how big is the capital hole at the bank?

5. PwC eyes poaching staff during EY split The Big Four firm is seeking to lure senior staff from its rival and capitalise on “disruption” and “uncertainty” caused by EY’s decision to split its accounting and consultancy arms.

The day ahead

Poland seeks $1.3tn of German wartime reparations Poland’s foreign minister said that he would raise the formal claim for damages and losses inflicted by the Nazis when he meets his German counterpart in Warsaw. Today also marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, at sundown.

Ecofin meeting EU ministers are due to discuss rising energy prices, the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the economic outlook, among other subjects in Luxembourg.

Greggs trading update The British street bakery is expected to report higher earnings and revenues for the third quarter, despite rising inflation.

US factory orders The US commerce department releases August data on factory orders, shipments and inventories following a decline in July that reversed nine consecutive months of rises. The labour department also publishes jobs data. (WSJ)

What else we’re reading

When conspiracy theorists rule Conspiracy theorists have moved from the streets to the suites, and have become presidents of countries including Turkey and Brazil. In the US, Donald Trump is planning his political comeback. But the most dangerous of them all is Vladimir Putin, who is threatening the world with nuclear war, Gideon Rachman writes.

China’s property crash Contagion is spreading deep into China’s political economy. What began as a property crisis — with slumping apartment sales and developer debt defaults — is morphing into a financial crunch for local governments. Read the first part of a new series examining the impact of the crisis brewing in the world’s second-largest economy.

Russia’s mobilisation targets ethnic minorities Indigenous men from Dagestan to Yakutia have been disproportionately targeted by Vladimir Putin’s mobilisation drive to bolster the invasion of Ukraine, drawing accusations from community leaders and activists that Moscow is conducting a “genocide”. Here they are in their own words.

European tech must learn to embrace failure Today’s market downturn presents Europe’s first real test since the global financial crisis. But Niklas Zennström, co-founder of Skype, is not worried about short-term stock price fluctuations. He fears that the failure stigma that used to inhibit Europeans from starting tech companies will hold founders back from ending them.

Making the poor poorer is a false economy Downing Street is discussing cutting welfare spending by not lifting benefits in line with inflation. Sarah O’Connor argues it is time to instead get tough on the causes of welfare spending: low pay, high housing costs and poor health.

Travel

The vast, empty range in the centre of the country known as the “Desert of Wales” offers huge skies and abundant peace — but is also the subject of a simmering environmental dispute.