Hungary will finally take back the gas power business it once sold to German energy giant E.ON next week.

In March 2013 the Hungarian Government agreed to pay €870 million (£730m) to E.ON for two companies, the country’s largest gas supplier Földgáz Trade and storage services firm Földgáz Storage. About 250 people work at the firms which are both based in Budapest.

Zsuzsanna Nemeth, Hungary’s National Development Minister said the Government will take control of the firms on Monday in a radio interview today, reported Hungarian news site Politics.hu.

She added talks about buy-outs with six or seven other utilities have already begun.

Hungary effectively wants to renationalise its energy sector to ensure “affordable energy supply to consumers”.

In a National Energy Strategy for 2030 released in 2012, ministers wrote: “Thinking responsibly, the Government considers it to be of critical importance in terms of energy policy to rebuild those Government positions that were given up in previous years due to short-term fiscal considerations or even less transparent or meaningful reasons.”