Germany should split its electricity price zone and allow for EU funds to go towards nuclear power plants, Sweden’s Energy Minister Ebba Busch said on Monday (16 December), adding fuel to a long-standing policy clash with Berlin. [emphasis, links added]
“Meeting after meeting, Germany has blocked the possibility of financing the construction of new fossil-free baseload power in the EU,” Busch (EPP) said ahead of a meeting of energy ministers in Brussels.
“It’s one thing for the Germans not to want nuclear power for themselves, but it’s another to prevent other countries from accessing these funds“, she explained, adding that the opposition amounted to “hypocrisy.”
Busch’s statement comes after an initial attack on Germany last week when she said she was “furious” at Berlin for its nuclear phase-out that, she said, contributed to the record energy price rises the country suffered last week.
Her criticism on Monday morning also extended to Germany’s refusal to comply with EU calls to divide its country into different electricity price zones.
Despite its large size, Germany offers the same electricity price across the entire country, while Swedes pay based on where they live.
EU regulator ACER recommended that Berlin enact a similar split in 2022, which is currently being debated.
“I find it hard to see the Commission intervening in this situation,” Busch acknowledged, “but […] we would like to see Germany introduce a price zone in northern Germany. That would drastically reduce the impact of Germany’s high electricity prices on Sweden,” she said.
In return for creating separate price zones, Busch floated political support for a long-stalled interconnector cable between the two countries, which she previously vetoed in June.
“If Germany were to open up to introducing a price zone in northern Germany, then it would be possible for us to sit down and discuss the Hansa Power Bridge again,” said Busch.
Read more at Euractiv
