Merkel declines to discuss with energy cos issue of nuclear plants' lifespan - Forbes.com

FRANKFURT (AFX) - Chancellor Angela Merkel has declined to discuss the issue of extending the lifespan of nuclear plants during last night's meeting with top managers of energy companies, sources said. They said the chief executives of RWE AG, E.ON AG, Vattenfall Europe AG and Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG told Merkel there was a need to allow utilities to continue operating their nuclear plants beyond the current limit. Merkel, however, refused to discuss the issue, sources said. Representatives of the German government coalition have previously stated they will not scrap the deal reached between the utility companies and the previous government led by Gerhard Schroeder. That agreement states that nuclear plants have to be shut down after they have been in operation for 32 years.