BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s cabinet is expected to decide on Wednesday on steps to reactivate coal-fired power plants to reduce gas consumption, economy ministry sources said on Monday, as Berlin braces for a possible prolonged interruption of Russian gas supply.
The coal-fired power plants, which were due to be closed this year and in 2023, will participate in the electricity market for a limited period as long as Germany is in level 2, called “alarm”, of its emergency plan on gas supply, the sources said.
The regulations, which will come into effect once approved by cabinet this week, aim to reduce gas consumption so that filling of storage facilities can continue despite dwindling supplies.
According to estimates, this plan should cover around 1% of Germany’s gas consumption.
Germany does not know how much gas will deliver to Russia via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline after the end of maintenance operations that began on Monday, the country’s energy regulator told Reuters.
The German government has asked electricity operators in the south of the country, such as EnBW and Uniper, to keep coal-fired power plants ready for operation in the event of an emergency.
The government will announce additional measures in October to allow the restart of lignite power plants if necessary.
(Report Markus Wacket and Riham Alkousaa; French version Elitsa Gadeva edited by Camille Raynaud)
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