The political doubts are now joined by technical concerns about the proposal by Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) to leave two of the last three nuclear power plants in operational readiness until April 2023 after they have been shut down at the end of the year.

Christian Geinitz

Business correspondent in Berlin

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Guido Knott, head of the Eon subsidiary Preussen-Elektra, which operates the Bavarian plant Isar 2, considers Habeck's plans "technically unfeasible and therefore unsuitable for securing the supply contribution of the plants".

Knott writes this in a letter to Habeck's State Secretary Patrick Graichen, which is available to the FAZ.

As early as August 25, the ministry was informed that in the event of a stretching operation or a complete shutdown, "flexible increase or reduction in output is no longer possible".

"A nuclear power plant is not an emergency generator"

Contrary to what von Habeck claims, this is "certainly not feasible at short notice within a week".

There is a lack of experience with the desired route, "testing a start-up procedure that has never been practiced before should not coincide with a critical state of the power supply".

Such an approach is “incompatible with our safety culture”.

According to the information, Isar 2 is prepared for regular stretching operations and could thus produce four terawatt hours of electricity.

"This could also noticeably dampen the high electricity prices," says Knott.

Habeck's house has denied that extending the term would lower prices noticeably.

Bavaria's Minister of the Environment Thorsten Glauber (Freie Wahler), whose house is in charge of nuclear supervision in the state, told the FAZ: "A cold reserve is not a good solution.

A nuclear power plant is not an emergency generator.” It is about unknown, complex processes.

Better would be "a temporary extension of the terms to ensure security of supply."

Baden-Württemberg's Environment Minister Thekla Walker (Greens), who is responsible for the second Neckarwestheim power plant, supports her party friend Habeck, but also says: "There are still open questions as to the extent to which this concept can be technically implemented and what special safety requirements are observed have to."

Habeck counters: "I didn't understand the concept"

Habeck contradicted the objections of Preussen-Elektra.

There "the concept was obviously not understood," he said on Wednesday in Berlin.

"The operational reserve is not about running the nuclear power plants up and down." The goal is rather to observe how the power supply in Germany and Europe is developing and then use the scenarios from the "stress test" of the transmission system operators " to decide whether you need the power plants or not".

That could be done in December with a view to January or later.

The minister was also surprised that Preussen-Elektra pretended not to be able to start up the system for the operational reserve again after the operational standstill.

In the mentioned letter of August 25, the company said that a shutdown was also necessary for the desired stretching operation.

It is incomprehensible why reopening is possible in one case but not in the other.

"That's why we're going to have these talks again now, what actually applies," said Habeck.

He was also irritated by the question of the annual safety inspection for Isar 2. This would be due in October and would only be unnecessary if the plant were finally to go offline two months later, as planned under the Nuclear Phase-Out Act.

However, the overhaul would be indispensable for the regular stretching operation of Isar 2 beyond December, which Preussen-Elektra and Eon apparently want.

This also applies to the model proposed by the ministry.

There is no getting around the review, said Habeck, indicating that the operator apparently wanted to avoid it: "The letter should therefore be interpreted in such a way that the nuclear power plants can only continue to operate if there is no revision, because then there may be technical problems come up, completely different questions arise.”

Habeck repeated that you have to talk to the operators about it.

"But the letter is surprising three times in this respect." On Friday, his house also published the reply letter from State Secretary Graichen to Knott.

In it he writes that there are apparently "misunderstandings about the planned nuclear power plant reserve" for the winter of 2022/23.

If the worst comes to the worst, the power plants would go back to the grid and then run through until April, "so not flexibly switched on and off, contrary to what is suggested in your letter".

A restart with a "core in stretching operation", as Knott writes, is also not planned.

In conclusion, Graichen writes: "In your letter of August 25, 2022, you assured that - although you had already planned for the end of operation on December 31, 2022 - you and your team and the Isar 2 nuclear power plant would be ready for further operation if it recognizable shortages of electricity and gas.

I assume that your offer was meant seriously and is therefore valid regardless of whether it is a stretching operation or a deployment as part of the reserve.”