RWE to rethink UK investments if it proceeds with tax on power firms- FT

German utility RWE AG’s head has warned that a windfall tax on electricity generators in Britain would make it and other power firms reconsider their investment decisions in the country, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

RWE, Germany’s largest power producer, last year had announced a plan to invest as much as 15 billion pounds ($18.39 billion) in green technologies and infrastructure in Britain by 2030.

Since then, energy companies have profited from high prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and British finance minister Rishi Sunak has said that the government was looking at profits in the power generation industry, when asked about a possible windfall tax.

RWE’s Chief Executive Officer Markus Krebber on Sunday reiterated the firm’s investment commitment in Britain for now, but said his company will reconsider if things change.

“If the environment changes — and part of that is of course the regulatory framework and political decisions — everybody would reconsider,” he told the Financial Times.

Britain has already announced a separate 25% windfall tax on oil and gas producers’ profits, alongside a 15 billion pound ($18.9 billion) package of support for households struggling to meet soaring energy bills. ($1 = 0.8155 pounds) (Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Daniel Wallis)