(Bloomberg) -- Austria approved a 2 billion euro ($2 billion) loan for Vienna’s municipal utility after spiking energy prices forced the company to provide more collateral to keep the lights on in the capital.

Wien Energie GmbH, the city-owned utility serving 2 million people, will get access to the credit facility as Austrian authorities probe the trades leading to its cash crunch, Finance Minister Magnus Brunner said at a briefing on Wednesday. The loan is on the low end of potential financing needs, which swelled to as high as $6 billion before European benchmark power prices slumped earlier this week. 

“We have taken the first step toward securing supply for all Wien Energie customers,” Vienna finance chief Peter Hanke said in a statement. “At the moment, however, tapping the facility isn’t necessary.”

Russia’s squeeze on gas deliveries to Europe is increasing the collateral needed by the region’s utilities to cover margin calls. Citigroup Inc. estimates that more than an additional 100 billion euros of collateral has been required. The region’s biggest power exchange has called for more government support as the billions of euros put up as collateral sap liquidity and make prices even more volatile.

Benchmark power prices in neighboring Germany spiked above 1,000 euros on Monday, before falling back on European Union pledges to intervene in the market. They traded at 600 euros as of 12:44 p.m. in Berlin, compared with about 120 euros at the start of the year.

Austrian regulators at E-Control have been ordered to assess whether any other utilities could also face liquidity constraints in the months ahead, according to Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler. While no other companies have currently declared a need, the government is still assessing whether a broader credit facility may be required. 

Utilities trading in Vienna fell on the news. State-controlled Verbund AG, the hydropower giant that is Austria’s most valuable company, fell as much as 2.6%. Lower Austria’s provincial utility EVN AG, whose second-biggest shareholder is Wien Energie, dropped as much as 2.9%. 

Wien Energie’s can draw on its new credit facility within two hours. The loan runs through the first quarter of 2023. 

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