German Finance Minister and representative of the Free Democratic Party Christian Lindner believes that “we cannot close reliable and environmentally friendly production (nuclear plants) during the electricity crisis.”

In his statement, he pointed out that “the German government must do everything to provide the country with electricity,” noting that “coal-fired power plants capable of producing additional electricity do not work in the country.”

In this context, Lindner called on the German authorities to increase the production capacity of the electricity market in order to contain price increases.

Germany first announced its plans to phase out nuclear power in 2011 after the Fukushima accident in Japan, and Berlin decided to shut down all nuclear power plants by the end of 2022 and phase out coal by 2038.

Germany also shut down on January 1 three of the last six nuclear power plants connected to the grid. Currently, three stations continue to operate in the country – in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony.