German electricity CEO rejects quick nuclear power-down

Apr 28, 2011, 13:27 GMT

Berlin - The chief of Eon, Germany's biggest electricity company, warned Thursday that a rushed shutdown of nuclear power stations would backfire, forcing massive imports of fossil fuels.

Johannes Teyssen was testifying at a day of nationally televised hearings on the future of nuclear power. A majority of Germans want the power stations shut. Chancellor Angela Merkel has appointed a panel of 17 public figures to recommend a timetable.

Teyssen said keeping the 17 nuclear power stations running provided a 'bridge' until construction of enough wind farms.

'You have to appreciate the advantages before carelessly scrapping (the bridge),' he said. 'The bridge cannot be shortened or narrowed, because the dip it has to cross can't be reduced at will.'

A quick closedown would force Germany to import more fossil fuel and more nuclear-generated electricity in the interim, he warned.

Teyssen's warning echoed criticism by the head of Germany's other big utility, Juergen Grossmann of RWE, who said April 20 that German nuclear plants were safe and rejected the outcry after the Fukushima disaster in Japan.

A series of top scientists were summoned to testify in Berlin to the advisory panel, which is known as the Ethics Commission and is charged with assessing how much risk Germany should take in the dying phase of nuclear power.

'Risk is not a mathematical issue but an ethical one,' explained Karl-Rudolf Korte, a political science professor commenting on the hearings. The public television networks broadcast the hearings live for Germans to watch from homes and workplaces.

Commentators predict the panel's recommendations, to be handed to Merkel on May 28, will lead her to legislate a shutdown of the plants at some point between 2015 and 2025.

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