HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) - The head of energy group RWE, Markus Krebber, believes the last three German nuclear power plants still in operation are dispensable. "In the overall European energy supply, the good four gigawatts of output of the last three German nuclear power plants make no difference," Krebber told the weekly newspaper Die Zeit in an interview published in advance Wednesday. He added that politicians had decided to end the power plants in mid-April. "We are now implementing that."

In contrast, he said, there is no alternative to the rapid construction of new gas-fired power plants for security of supply. "In the future, they should step in as a substitute when wind and sun fail," Krebber said. "If we don't build gas-fired power plants, there will be too little electricity in such situations in the future. Or we will have to keep coal-fired power plants in reserve. We don't want either of those."/tob/DP/mis