By In France, the Ministry of Energy Transition announced Sunday, June 26, that the government is preparing to restart the coal-fired power plant in Saint-Avold, Moselle, if needed for next winter. The German company Uniper operates Saint-Avold.
In Germany, where dependence on Russian fossil fuels is very high, restarting coal-fired power plants is also on the agenda. "It's painful, but it's a pure necessity in this situation to reduce gas consumption," said Economy Minister Robert Habeck, a member of the Green Party. This is the price to pay to avoid political blackmail, he added. In Germany, authorities are also planning to set up an auction system in the coming weeks to encourage industry to consume less gas. At the same time, the German gas market operator will get resources from KfW to quickly fill gas storage sites.
In Austria, the government has asked Verbund to convert a gas-fired backup power plant to generate electricity with coal. Italy has planned to implement measures to reduce consumption, including rationing gas for some industrial users, increasing production at coal-fired power plants and requesting additional gas imports from other suppliers as part of the package.
In the United Kingdom, the government has asked EDF to keep its West Burton coal-fired power plant running during the winter. Discussions are also underway for the other two coal-fired power plants still operating in the country (Ratcliffe, operated by Uniper, and Kilroot, by the Czech EPH).
