Vattenfall

The German Ministry of Economy said the decision was based on "taking into account the security policies" and "a strong interest in protecting key energy infrastructure."

The German government approved a draft law Wednesday that paves the way for energy giants RWE and Vattenfall to receive hundreds of millions of euros in compensation for the country's decision to phase out nuclear power.

German utilities RWE, Vattenfall and Mibrag will start reducing their coal-fired power output at the start of winter 2016, shifting this capacity instead to the country's power reserve as part of a plan to cut carbon emissions, the government said.