German nuclear industry association KernD said it is “disappointed” with plans by the federal ministry of economics and technology to keep two of the country’s nuclear power plants on standby beyond their statutory shutdown date of 31 December 2022 and only allowing them to produce electricity an emergency.

KernD said the two plants, Neckarwestheim-2 in Baden Württemberg and Isar-2 in Bavaria, could contribute to relieving the strained electricity market and alleviate consumer concerns about security of supply. It called for the ministry’s plans to be revised.

“It is incomprehensible that the impact on prices of the continued operation of nuclear power plants with their generation of 33 billion kilowatt hours per year obviously played no role in the decision-making process of the federal government,” KernD said.