(Bloomberg) -- Germany and the Netherlands aim to decide by this summer on a deal that would see Germany buy the local unit of power-grid operator TenneT Holding BV, a step needed to expand the grid and get it ready for an expected influx of renewable energies.

Germany is in talks to pay more than €20 billion ($21.6 billion), people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News last month.

Europe’s largest economy is pushing to secure affordable power and curb its dependency on Russian gas as the worst energy crisis in decades undermines its industrial base. It’s also looking to wean itself off fossil fuels and transition to clean energy to reach climate neutrality by 2045.

“The grid transmission capacities now planned must be completed more quickly than they are currently envisaged,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz told a news conference in Rotterdam after a meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. “This means that billions and tens of billions of euros must be invested.”

In a joint statement, Germany and the Netherlands said they and TenneT are “in the process of exploring and negotiating a potential full sale/acquisition of TenneT Germany.” The “objective is to establish in the course of this summer whether a mutually beneficial agreement can be reached.”

Rutte told reporters that the Dutch side was exploring a market-conforming price for the sale. He declined to name a figure as negotiations are ongoing.

Scholz added both sides would continue talks about the planned sale. He said he wants grid expansion “to proceed at the speed we need.”

Negotiations for stakes in rivals 50Hertz Transmission GmbH, TransnetBW GmbH and Amprion GmbH also are underway, with the eventual goal of forming a single unit, people with knowledge of the matter have said. The Scholz administration views former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to privatize and split the grid as the reason for splintered management responsibilities, slow expansion and sluggish modernization, according to the people.

 

(Updates with comments from Scholz)

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