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BERLIN - German leaders reached an agreement to grant the country's nuclear power plants an average of 12 extra years of production time and to levy new fees on the utility companies', stripping them of billions of their expected additional profits, a government official said Sunday.
Following months of public wrangling on the controversial issue, Chancellor Angela Merkel, Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen, Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and other key leaders of the governing centre-right coalition reached the agreement in an almost 10-hour-long marathon session at the chancellery, a government official said. He declined to be named in line with government policy.
The country's 17 nuclear power plants will remain online for 12 more years on average, with older plants getting an extra eight years and more recent ones 14 additional years beyond 2021, Roettgen and Bruederle said at an improvised late night news conference at the chancellery, German news agency dapd reported.
The chancellor was to brief media on more details of the new agreement Monday.
Merkel said earlier this week an extra 10 to 15 years of production time beyond 2021 was possible. A previous centre-left government decided in 2000 to shut down all nuclear plants by 2021 — a decision she wanted to reverse so that Germany can have more leeway as it switches to renewable energies.
The coalition leaders also agreed on a new levy to tax the utility companies' additional profits. As announced earlier, the companies will have to pay an annual fuel tax aimed at raising €2.3 billion ($3 billion) starting next year, but they will also have to contribute to a special fund to boost renewable energies, meant to raise billions, dapd reported. The amount of the latter was not further specified.
Hundreds of people protested outside the chancellery in Berlin against the planned extension of the nuclear power plants' lifetime throughout the day. Some carried banners saying, "Nuclear power: Only the risk is secured."
The main opposition parties, the Social Democrats and the Greens, staunchly oppose the idea of keeping the plants longer online, citing the safety risk and the need to switch to renewable energies.
Opposition leader Sigmar Gabriel told public broadcaster ARD Sunday evening the agreement marked "a black day for Germany's energy policy" as the coalition government caved in to the pressure of the utility companies.
The project was even controversial within Merkel's government. Economy Minister Bruederle called for an extension of up to 20 years, but Environment Minister Roettgen was skeptical on longer production times.
Merkel's coalition, however, still needs to get parliamentary approval for the new agreement.
The government says the measure only has to be approved by the lower house, where it holds a majority. The opposition maintains the upper house representing the federal states — where Merkel recently lost her majority — has to approve the measure as well. If no agreement is reached, leading opposition politicians have hinted they would bring the case to the country's constitutional court.
