Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has shown himself open to longer operating times for the last three nuclear power plants that are still connected to the grid in Germany. With a view to the gas crisis, Scholz said on Wednesday that these nuclear power plants are only relevant for a small part of electricity production. “But it can still make sense,” said the SPD politician when asked about extending the runtimes for the nuclear reactors, whose operation actually ends at the end of the year. The decision will be based on a power supply stress test, the results of which will be available soon.
As justification, Scholz pointed out, among other things, that “particularly in Bavaria, the expansion of wind energy has progressed very slowly”. The expansion of the transmission network to the south has also not progressed as quickly as planned. This is taken into account in the “very, very strict stress test” for electricity production in Germany.