SPD criticises energy minister Altmaier’s grid-expansion field trip

The Social Democratic Party (SPD), the junior partner in Germany's coalition government, has criticised Economy and Energy Minister Peter Altmaier, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), for failing to take action on important energy transition questions. The vice-head of the SPD’s parliamentary group, Matthias Miersch, told news agency dpa (in an article carried by Welt Online) that the minister’s “symbolic” field trip to power line construction sites “does not deliver grid expansion.” Miersch said Altmaier had to appoint a state secretary for energy in the economy ministry. “Everyone I talk to, from businesses to environmental groups, is stunned that this position has not been filled for several months now,” Miersch said.

Find the article in German here.

Read an article on Altmaier's new "Power Grid Action Plan" here and a CLEW dossier on Germany's grid expansion here.