German power utility E.ON plans to take two of its gas-fired power plants in the country, Irsching 5 and Irsching 4, offline citing reasons of unprofitability.

The ownership consortium for the Irsching 5, including E.ON, HSE, Mainova, and N-ERGIE, has notified the German Federal Network Agency and network operator TenneT about shutting down the plant.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Similar notification for shutting down the Irsching 4 plant has been forwarded to the German Federal Network Agency by its sole owner E.ON.

Both the facilities are equipped with combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGT), which are expected to stop functioning by April 2016, the German firm informed.

"Both the gas-fired power plants are equipped with combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGT), which are expected to stop functioning by April 2016, the German firm informed."

While the Irsching 5 plant has a generation capacity of 846MW, the Irsching 4 can supply 550MW of power.

Irsching 5 and the Irsching 4 were commissioned in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Over the last two years, the facilities had been operating under contracts formed by the owners with their respective network operators, which is scheduled to expire in March next year.

The contract classifies costs either on the basis of the merchant power supply capability of the units or if they transmit power to the network operator.

The rise in subsidised renewables feed-in and reduction of wholesale power prices have affected the profitability of the units. In 2014, the units have supplied no merchant power at all.

E.ON and the other owners do not want to go for contract renewals, and have come up with the shutdown notices to avoid operating the facilities at loss.