What if Germany cannot power its coal plants this winter?

The German government is concerned it won’t be able to power its newly-reactivated coal plants due to low water levels in the Rhine river, according to a document drafted by the Economy Ministry and seen by the Reuters news agency.

Russia has drastically reduced gas supply to Germany in recent weeks to about 20 percent of the capacity through its Nord Stream 1 pipeline. The Kremlin has cited technical problems, but European leaders say the reduction is a political move aimed at putting pressure on the West to lift its economic sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine.

Germany, Europe’s largest economy, had built its energy strategy to rely on a steady and cheap supply of gas from Russia. As Europe aims to wean itself off Russian gas, Germany is one of the countries which  will be most affected by potential gas shortages this winter, as there are fears Russia might cut off supply altogether. Germany, alongside Italy and smaller economies in Eastern Europe, relies heavily on Russian gas for both its industry and heating.

In order to tackle the upcoming energy crisis, Germany has announced it will reopen some of its coal power plants that were shut down as part of an effort to meet its climate goals and reduce the use of the dirtiest of fossil fuels.

But according to the document, the government is now worried that it won’t be able to transport the coal it needs to power those plants to where it is needed, with its main waterway, the Rhine, suffering from unusually low water levels. Just like the rest of Europe, Germany has experienced one of the worst droughts in its recent history this summer.

Oil supply in the eastern part of the country could also be an issue, the document notes. 

"Due to very reduced domestic shipping, accumulated coal stocks could quickly fall," the document says. 

"Additional storage sites which have been and are being procured in southern Germany will probably not be filled by winter," it adds, citing how low water levels have reduced the volume of coal that can be transported by river barges.

While Germany approved legislation on Wednesday to prioritise energy transport on the country’s railway network, the document says this is unlikely to suffice.

"High demand and scarce transport capacity in rail freight are leading to a challenging situation in oil logistics. Some products from refineries cannot be moved," adds the document.

Alongside the emergency railway transport orders, Germany also introduced measures to reduce energy consumption. These include a requirement that public buildings be heated to a maximum of 19 degrees Celsius – less than the previously recommended temperature—with exemptions for schools and hospitals. 

The emergency decree also says that all buildings and advertisements that are lighted at night for aesthetic reasons should be turned off, expanding on previously announced measures that included shutting down public fountains and switching off the façade lighting of public buildings.