INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday raised the possibility of keeping nuclear plants going as he accused Russia of blocking the
delivery of a key turbine to throttle gas supplies to Europe.The continent's biggest economy has been scrambling for energy sources to
Germany's three remaining nuclear power plants "can make sense."The power stations, which are set to be taken off the grid at the end of
the year, were "relevant exclusively for electricity production, and only for a small part of it," Scholz said.In total, the nuclear fleet
accounts for 6% of Germany's electricity output.The government has said it will await the outcome of a new "stress test" of the national
electric grid before determining whether to stick with the long-planned phaseout.Nuclear switchFormer Chancellor Angela Merkel spectacularly
decided to ditch atomic energy in 2011 following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.Extending the lifetime of the plants has set off a
heated debate in Germany, where nuclear power has been a source of controversy stretching back before Merkel's move.The question has split
the governing coalition, with Scholz's Social Democrats and the Greens hitherto skeptical, and the FDP favoring an extension.Germany has
already moved to restart mothballed coal power plants to guard against an energy shortfall.The first of these was already "supplying
electricity to the network," Scholz said Wednesday, adding that Germany had to prepare for a "difficult time."The squeeze comes as Russia
dwindles supplies of gas, which Germany has long relied on to power industry and heat homes.Russian energy giant Gazprom has chalked up
limited supplies to technical issues.The delayed return of a turbine from Canada, where the unit was being serviced, was behind the initial
reduction in deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline in June, according to Gazprom.Supplies via the energy link were further reduced
to around 20% of capacity in late July, after Gazprom halted the operation of one of the last two operating turbines due to the "technical
condition of the engine."Turbine troubleBerlin has dismissed Gazprom's justifications for the reduction to supply, seeing instead a
"political" move in response to the West's support for Ukraine.The turbine which was transferred from Canada to Germany was "available and
working," Scholz said Wednesday."There is no reason why this delivery cannot happen," he said, adding that it had received "all the
approvals" needed for export from Germany to Russia.Pipeline operators only had to say "they want to have the turbine and provide the
necessary customs information for transport to Russia," Scholz said.But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov insisted that Gazprom was still
waiting for documents confirming the unit was "not affected by sanctions."It was however "technologically possible" in the opinion of
Russian President Vladimir Putin to continue deliveries via the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Peskov said.The second pipeline, which runs parallel
to Nord Stream 1, stands completed but was blocked by the German government in the run up to the invasion of Ukraine.Former Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder, who signed off on the pipeline while in office, told German magazine Stern it was "the easiest solution" to use Nord
supplies sent a "difficult message" to the world by creating doubt over Russia's commitment to its agreements, he added.
