Six gas and coal-fired power stations in the Netherlands are set to come partly into Russian hands as part of a deal between their owner and Russian state company Gazprom, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Friday.

The power plants are owned by Dutch power group Essent, which is now part of Germany’s RWE. RWE and Gazprom are setting up a joint venture which will include power plants in the Benelux, Germany and Britain.
The two companies hope the deal will be finalised in the next three months.
The paper says RWE has emphasised it is a purely financial deal and that it will remain responsible for the operational side. ‘Our power stations will continue to be managed by Essent staff,’ Essent’s CEO Peter Terium told the FD.