FRANKFURT: A deal between E.ON SE and a grid operator in the German state of Bavaria to keep open an unprofitable gas-fired power station cannot be seen as a role model for the sector, the sector regulator said.
The deal last month allowed the Irshing plant enough income to continue operating at a fee to be borne by power customers, on the grounds that its closure could have undermined grid stability in the power-intensive region.
The deal had been seen as a possible precedent for how Germany ensures the survival of conventional power, whose profitability has been hit by a boom in subsidised renewable energy as the country phases out nuclear power.
Yet Jochen Homann, president of the network regulation agency, said on Monday the agreement was unlikely to be repeated.
"I assume that before it becomes necessary to stage further (such) activities, we will manage to extend grids in southern Germany to such a degree so as relax the situation," Homann told reporters a an annual briefing.
He added no other applications for similar cases had been received.
Grid firm Tenney, operator of networks in the Irsching area, will ensure the Irsching blocks 4 and 5 will remain operational over the next three years.
E.ON, the plant's main owner and operator, put the fee income at a double-digit million euro amount per block per year.
TenneT's activities are overseen by the network agency, which monitors grid stability.
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