Vattenfall sale of its lignite mines in Germany

German electricity group Steag, Czech power producer CEZ, a consortium of energy group EPH and financial group PPF, and privately held Czech Coal’s lignite miner Vrsanska Uhelna expressed non-binding interests last year.

Swedish utility Vattenfall is struggling to attract buyers for its lignite mines and power plants in E Germany with less than a week left to submit binding offers, sources have told Reuters.

The sale, launched at the end of 2014, includes about 8,100MW of lignite-fired plants, which generate about 10% of Germany’s total electricity, as well as mining activities.

The deal was initially expected to fetch up to €3.5B (US$3.9B), but falling European power prices and future costs of plant/mine decommissioning have cut the value.

German electricity group Steag, Czech power producer CEZ, a consortium of energy group EPH and financial group PPF, and privately held Czech Coal’s lignite miner Vrsanska Uhelna expressed non-binding interests last year.