German energy firm RWE to receive 2 bln euros for coal phase-out: report

German energy company RWE could receive up to 2 billion euros (2.2 billion U.S. dollars) from the government to compensate for the accelerated coal phase-out, the newspaper Rheinische Post reported on Friday.

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier (CDU) was in "broad agreement" with the country's second largest electricity producer RWE in the negotiations on compensation for lignite companies, the report said.

In addition to the compensation, RWE would also receive 700 million euros for the estimated 300 RWE workers who could lose their job because of the coal phase-out, Rheinische Post reported.

One year ago, the German government agreed on a national plan for its coal phase-out by 2038 at the latest, based on the findings of an official coal commission consisting of politicians, industry figures, economic experts as well as environmental associations and regional representatives.

By 2020 already, the German government is seeking to reduce the output of lignite plants by 12.5 gigawatt by 2022. Before the complete phase-out of coal by 2038, a maximum output for lignite plants of 17 gigawatts would still be on the German electricity market until 2030.

Following the report by Rheinische Post, shares of the Essen-based energy company RWE jumped by around five percent to the highest rating since September last year and traded at around 28.87 euros on Friday.