Germany has been planning to end its nuclear power by the end of the year in order to shore up energy supplies during an expected shortfall this winter, according to Robert Habeck, economic minister.
More than half of the power stations in France are offline, which is why the decision is due to a shortage of electricity coming from France.
He said that the resulting gap in electricity supplies was being observed with concern that Europe's energy network is in danger of being put under too much strain, potentially leading to power cuts. Germany is not able to obtain electricity from France, but is compensated for by gas-fired power stations in Germany. Germany is trying to save gas by using up valuable supplies of gas when trying to save it before winter arrives.
Germany's three remaining nuclear power stations were due to be turned off at the end of the year, the end of an 11 year process. The decision to withdraw from nuclear power was made by Angela Merkel after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan.
Habeck had resisted calls for the power plants in southern Germany Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim 2 to be extended as Germany coped with the effect of Russia slowing down, and then shutting off its gas supply via the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1 earlier this month. His arguments against keeping the plants in operation became increasingly hard to defend. Despite being in favor of moving away from nuclear power, a majority of Germans have said they are in favor of extending the plants' use temporarily.
Habeck had earlier announced earlier this month that the plants would be put into standby mode, but would effectively stay offline unless needed.
Habeck said he was a reaction to the current situation, including an escalation of Russia's situation, which is developing fairly dramatically, and that he was resistant to populist demands.
Habeck said that the necessary changes to the law covering the extension of plants would be voted on by the Bundestag at the end of next month.
Habeck said the government was aware of the concerns and was doing its utmost to secure them, because they were aware of the security concerns and whether nuclear plants could be open to hacking attacks and terrorist threats.
The German and Danish authorities were looking at evidence on Tuesday suggesting that the Nord Stream pipelines 1 and 2 may have been deliberately damaged on Monday night in an act of sabotage, after dramatic drops of pressure in them and evidence of gas leaking into the Baltic Sea with possible explosions. Fingers have been pointed at Russia as a possible culprit. The incident has raised concerns about the vulnerability of the energy infrastructure in Europe.