GREVENBROICH (dpa-AFX) - The energy company RWE shut down five coal-fired power plant units from the 1970s in the Rhenish mining area on Sunday. This was confirmed by an RWE spokesperson on Sunday. Units at the Neurath power plant in Grevenbroich and the Niederaussem power plant in Bergheim were taken off the grid. In order to secure the power supply during the energy crisis and to save natural gas, the German government had temporarily extended their operating times.

Some of the decommissioned units were placed on standby for a few years and then repaired for longer operation. They produced electricity again from October 2022. Two units at the Neurath power plant should have been taken off the grid at the end of 2022. However, the deadline was suspended until the end of March 2024 due to the gas shortage. The units that have now been decommissioned were not in continuous operation, but were only connected to the grid as required. Two units at the Jänschwalde power plant in Brandenburg were also in operation for longer.

The Federal Network Agency does not believe that the shutdowns will affect the security of electricity supply./uho/DP/he