German Economy Minister Calls for Nuclear Power Rethink as Energy Prices Spike

Katherina Reiche says the decommissioning of Germany’s nuclear power plants has left the country with ‘no alternative’ to increasingly expensive gas.

People gather near the decommissioned Gundremmingen nuclear power plant before the plant's cooling towers were demolished as part of the country’s nuclear phase-out, in southern Germany on Oct. 25, 2025. Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/AFP via Getty Images

German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche has called for rethinking the country’s position on nuclear power as energy prices skyrocket amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.

In comments published in the Financial Times on April 1, she said that decisions by previous governments to shut down all of the nuclear power plants left them with only gas to meet demand.