Germany may not be able to replace all of its Russian natural gas imports this winter and may have to resort to nuclear power to fill part of the gap, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and his Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) said on Tuesday Sunday.

Europe is in the midst of its worst energy crisis in decades, which has fueled inflation and pushed countries to the brink of recession.

This is forcing politicians to examine all available alternatives, including nuclear energy, a technology that Germany plans to phase out for good by the end of the year.

Both Scholz and Economics Minister Habeck emphasized on Sunday at a government open day in Berlin that there is the possibility of extending the life of the last three German reactors beyond December.

However, this is only being considered because of increasing concerns that Europe's largest economy will not be able to replace dwindling natural gas supplies from Russia.

“As much as I think it's wrong to get into nuclear power, I have to ask myself this question.

It is complex,” stressed Habeck.

Take care of maintenance and repairs

While this isn't the first time the government has raised the possibility of sticking with nuclear power longer than planned, such statements are growing louder.

At the same time, the technology is neither the most economical nor the safest available for Germany, said Habeck.

Scholz pointed to the maintenance and repair problems in France, which highlighted the problems of older plants.

"What worries me is that there is no ready-made answer to what happens when the gas runs out," said Scholz.

"If we make the decision to keep them running so we don't have a problem this winter, that's only a small contribution to solving our challenge, because it's all about electricity production."

Operators, including Eon and RWE, have said they are open to discussions with lawmakers about such an option, but stressed the need for a swift decision.

A study on security of supply to help Germany decide on nuclear power plants will be available by the end of the month or early September, Scholz said.

The German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, on the other hand, was more optimistic about the prospect of a temporary extension of reactor life.

"There is a lot to be said for using the three nuclear power plants that we have," he said at the open house.

Population must reduce consumption

In the short term, cutting energy demand will make the biggest difference for Germany and any other country looking to turn away from Russian supplies.

Germany has urged citizens to reduce their consumption and introduced a levy on gas consumption last week.

It also wants to restart coal-fired power plants that have been shut down and is investing in infrastructure to import more LNG.

Gas storage facilities are 78% full, according to the latest data from the Bundesnetzagentur, the country's energy regulator.


"There is no scenario where there is no gas, but there is a scenario where there is not enough gas in storage and supply is not available in other forms as it was," Habeck said.

“The question is how big the gap is in the worst case.

There's a gap and that's the real question."

According to an Allensbach survey published on Sunday for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, around 60 percent of Germans are in favor of extending the lifespan of the remaining nuclear power plants in Germany.

These reactors could replace just one percent of Germany's natural gas consumption next year, according to a Bloomberg report from early August.