BERLIN, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Extending the lifespans of Germany's three remaining nuclear power stations would help reduce electricity prices next year, said the Ifo economic institute, amid government discussions about how to bring sky-rocketing energy prices under control.
The price of electricity in Germany would fall by 4% in 2023 if the three stations were allowed to continue operating, according to an Ifo study published on Wednesday.
Under current government plans, one nuclear power station will go offline by the end of 2022 while the other two plants will be in reserve to cover emergencies until mid-April.
Nuclear power is not a one-to-one replacement for natural gas but it does replace coal in the short term, said Ifo electricity expert Mathias Mier. An extension would lead to the share of natural gas in power generation dropping to 7.6% from 8.3%.
Because not all the factors determining future electricity consumption are yet known, especially natural gas availability in the coming winter, "it may therefore be sensible to keep the option of nuclear power open beyond a crisis-related, short-term extension of operating lives in the coming year," said Ifo.
Germany initiated its exit from nuclear power, which had been planned for the end of 2022, under former Chancellor Angela Merkel after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Mier added that nuclear power plant operators' profits would be about 7.9 billion euros ($7.9 billion) higher than expected this year due to the huge jump in natural gas prices.
The plant due to be closed this year is at Emsland in northwestern Germany. The two due to be held in reserve until April are Neckarwestheim 2 and Isar 2, both in the south of the country.
($1 = 1.0003 euros) (Reporting by Rene Wagner and Miranda Murray, editing by Rachel More)
