GMUND (dpa-AFX) - According to Federal Minister of Economics Katherina Reiche, a new gas-fired power plant will be built in southern Germany. "We are planning a southern bonus, which will be built with two-thirds of the total capacity put out to tender in the technical south," said the CDU politician after attending a closed-door meeting of the Bavarian cabinet led by Minister President Markus Soder (CSU) in Gmund am Tegernsee.

20 gigawatts of gas-fired power plants – talks with the EU Commission

Reiche had already announced several weeks ago that she wanted to get new gas-fired power plants up and running "quickly" in Germany. She now emphasized that Bavaria would benefit both from the power plant strategy and "from the tender for the first 20 gigawatts that we have set ourselves in Germany." The federal government is already in intensive talks with the EU Commission about the tender.

Cabinet to decide on relief measures before summer break

The new federal government's goal is to lower high electricity prices for companies so that they can become competitive again, Reiche said. The federal cabinet will decide on the first relief measures before the summer break.

These include reducing the electricity tax, easing grid fees, and the gas storage levy. Currently, high energy costs are causing new investments to go to states where electricity and energy prices are lower.

Reiche wants a "balanced triangle"

"Security of supply, climate protection, and affordability must once again come together in a balanced triangle," said Reiche. It is also important to ensure that existing exemptions for energy-intensive industries, such as electricity price compensation, continue to be approved.

Green energy minister calls for hydrogen-compatible power plants

Baden-Württemberg's Energy Minister Thekla Walker (Green Party) called on Reiche to put out a tender for modern hydrogen-compatible power plants: "In addition to new grids, southern Germany also needs sufficient buffer capacities. These reserve power plants must be H2-ready and converted to hydrogen as soon as possible," she told the German Press Agency in Munich. If the federal government were to switch back to old technology instead, it would deprive the burgeoning hydrogen economy of its business basis. "Continuing to rely on gas longer than absolutely necessary entails incalculable cost risks."/had/DP/zb