Speaking at a conference in Berlin today, organized by the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, chairman of the opposition Christian Democrats Friedrich Merz revealed that the current Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) had rejected the PreussenElektra offer to resume operating the Isar-2 nuclear power plant. As U.S. analyst Mark Nelson wrote on X platform, PreussenElektra offered to keep its plant operational at a price of €60/MWh, which was said to be far from the current market value of electricity of between €100 and €130/MWh.
Habeck has proposed capping prices for industrial consumers precisely at €60/MWh, which coincided with the Isar-2 proposal, despite the administrative difficulties and costs involved in restarting the facility. In particular, it would take about a year to train staff, deal with paperwork and purchase new fuel. As Nelson explains, the Isar-2 price before it was shut down had been €20/MWh. Meanwhile, Germany’s basic futures contracts for next year do not go below €100/MWh.
