EnBW chief: Speak with one voice in Germany

22 January 2008

The German power industry should speak up with a single voice for what it wants, Hans-Peter Villis, CEO of EnBW, told the Handelsblatt newspaper.

In an interview conducted 100 days after he took the top job at Germany's third-largest generator, Energie Baden-Wuerttemburg (EnBW), Villis explained some of the company's expansion plans. It is looking towards eastern Europe, Turkey and Russia, free to invest with absolute freedom granted by its major shareholder Electricité de France. Some Eur7.6 billion ($11 billion) is approved for investment to 2010.

Villis said he would soon engage in the political world surrounding Germany's nuclear phase-out policy.    
 "Nuclear energy is
  the right response
  to incoming 
  security of supply
  threats"
    Around the end of February he is to explain EnBW's specific position to chancellor Angela Merkel.

Based in the south of Germany, far from coal and gas supply infrastructure, EnBW relies largely on nuclear power. Villis advocates an 'open dialogue' on the concept of extending reactor lives beyond the 35-year average stipulated by the phase-out plan. 'Nuclear energy is the right response to incoming security of supply threats and should have a concrete position in energy supply,' he said.

The possibilities of life extensions for nuclear plants or further investment in renewables should be discussed, but in the meantime EnBW continues to invest in nuclear power. Villis said 'double-digit' millions would go into security technology upgrades at Neckarwestheim 1 even though it is slated to shut down forever in 2010. He 'remains optimistic' that shutdown can be averted.

The twin challenges of the nuclear phase out and emissions challenges with coal generation threaten to create a huge supply gap, he said, but this 'has nothing to do with creating panic'. The power industry needs to throw itself forward and adopt a positive attitude to its problems.

However, he called for more coordination in responses by German power generators. Along with the two bigger companies, RWE and EOn, EnBW should perhaps be less forthcoming with their messages and let trade bodies speak on their behalf with one voice.

Under current policies, nuclear power plants that currently provide almost one third of German electricity would all be closed permanently after 2022.