The German Left Party has cautiously welcomed the federal government’s recent investment in Tennet, a leading electricity grid operator, while simultaneously advocating for a complete nationalization of the company. Ines Schwerdtner, the party’s co-leader and a member of the Bundestag’s budget committee, argued that Tennet’s position as a near-monopoly with guaranteed returns fundamentally justifies state intervention.
While acknowledging the principle of the government’s involvement as positive, Schwerdtner expressed disappointment with the decision to acquire only a minority stake – 25.1 percent – through a budgetary allocation. She accused the government of effectively privatizing profits while leaving the state to bear residual risks.
“This is a missed opportunity for true public benefit” Schwerdtner stated in an interview with the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). “A true strategic asset like Tennet warrants full public ownership to ensure its operations serve the national interest, not the returns of private investment funds.
The Left Party’s criticism centers on the potential for utilizing Tennet’s substantial profits – currently flowing to large investment firms – to directly alleviate the burden of high electricity prices for German households. Schwerdtner contends that the current partial ownership structure allows Economics Minister Katarina Reiche (CDU) to prioritize private investor returns at the expense of consumers.
“The government’s actions prioritize the financial interests of investors while millions of Germans continue to struggle with exorbitant energy bills” Schwerdtner asserted. “This represents a failure of responsible energy policy and demonstrates a clear bias toward financial interests over the needs of the population”. The Left Party believes that full nationalization could offer a pathway to significantly lower grid fees and, consequently, reduce consumer electricity costs, a policy direction they strongly urge the government to reconsider.
