Cologne (Platts)--20Mar2008

Germany will not have enough generation capacity to cover peak demand by
2012, the country's energy agency Deutsche Energie-Agentur said Wednesday.

By 2012, the country will need an extra 11,600 MW of capacity (or about
15 big power units) if demand remains at present levels, Dena said in a study.

By 2020, the shortage could amount to 16,600 MW, the study showed.

In a report leaked to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the study, based on
talks with generators and Dena's own calculations, showed that the shortage of
supply is due to the removal of many power plants from generators' lists.

Local resistance to generators, rising construction costs and uncertainty
over post-Kyoto negotiations and emission trade issues were all cited as
explanations, Dena said.

The study said 59 units have been put on the backburner. Another 19
units (about 11,000 MW) had either begun operation since 2005 or were
currently under construction.

The agency also warned against a short term fix of extending the life
spans of nuclear units as a means of boosting supply.

German power plants currently have an overall installed capacity of
80,000 MW.