German politicians are set to steer clear of raising the crucial issue of the planned closure of nuclear power plants when they meet utilities and industry bosses on Monday, to avoid a split in the ruling coalition. Government reports on three working groups results, copies of which were obtained by Reuters, show that the meeting, to devise a national energy strategy, will focus on energy efficiency and international energy security instead.

"I can only conclude that the government wishes to avoid going into the nuclear detail and instead prefers the simpler topics," said a source familiar with the preparations. "But I would not want to predict whether the guests at the summit will agree to that agenda," he added.

The Oct. 9 energy summit follows on from a meeting in April, when utilities pledged to invest more than 30 billion euros (US$38 billion) in power stations and networks. This time, Chancellor Angela Merkel, Economy Minister Michael Glos and Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel want to set energy targets for Germanys presidency of the EU next year.

The politicians goals are to promote energy efficiency, where Germany has a good record, and lower dependency on energy imports, namely from Russia, across the bloc. These are non-controversial issues among energy sector bigwigs such as RWE and E.ON and managers in key energy consuming industries such as steel and chemicals.

But the ruling parties continue to row over the gradual closure of nuclear power stations, which a government led by the centre-left Social Democrats agreed with utilities in 2000. Merkel s conservatives (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democrats last year formed a government coalition, where the SPD vowed it would stick to the deal while the conservatives aim to reverse it to cap power prices and meet environmental targets. This could test the stability of the coalition.

Nuclear power generation, which supplies a third of German electricity, is comparably cheap and produces virtually no harmful carbon dioxide emissions. Utility RWE just last week provoked the government by filing an application to keep its nuclear plant Biblis A open longer than the 2008 closure date envisaged under the deal, saying it would transfer left-over production quotas from an idled plant.

In response, the SPD said in a presidium statement ahead of the summit, "The nuclear exit stands as it is. We stick to what we signed and we expect the same from the energy industry." Monday s meeting may also feature a clash over steps to curb the dominance of leading power firms, which consumers cite as the reason for run-away energy costs. Utilities, which have come under pressure from tighter regulation by antitrust bodies, have threatened to go back on their investment pledges if they are treated too harshly.
(Por Vera Eckert, Planet Ark, 06/10/2006)