EnBW chief urges for speed in new German power plant plans

The head of the major utility EnBW told an industry event in Berlin on Monday that the next German government should quickly pick up the stalled law draft on the development and expansion of gas-powered power generation.

EnBW, Uniper, and STEAG are among the companies that want to build new power plants.

The now-dissolved coalition government dropped a bill last year for the construction and upgrade of 12,5 gigawatts of gas power plants, as it couldn't reach agreement with industry and within the coalition on the details.

Polls indicate that no party will be able to win an absolute majority.

Georg Stamatelopoulos CEO of South-Western company, which provides services like power and gas, and electric mobility infrastructure at the E-World Conference in Essen, said that any new government must decide the strategy for power plants.

He added, "The message is that we must act quickly."

Stamatelopoulos stated that the industry needed clarity by 2027/28 on an accompanying design of the market so that power producers can compete for government tenders in order to build new capacities.

EnBW estimates that 20 GW new capacity is needed by 2030 to ensure system stability in the electricity grids. By then, 80% of power should be supplied from solar or wind panels while carbon-polluting fossil fuel plants are shut down. (Reporting and editing by Tom Kaeckenhoff, Vera Eckert)

(source: Reuters)