Eighteen documented statements by Katherina Reiche, from a 2002 newspaper profile to the 2026 energy reforms. Each is given in the original language with a translation, its date and setting, and a note on why it matters. Nothing here is reconstructed from memory or social media.
"We concentrated on climate protection, we underestimated affordability - that was a mistake that we are going to correct."
"Even today some people need the stuffiness driven out of them."
„Auch heute müsste man manchen Leuten den Muff austreiben."
As Der Spiegel reported in July 2002, she had once named the student leader born in her home town, when asked about role models, as "der größte Sohn der Stadt". The original interview is not identified. An unexpected reference point for a young Christian Democrat.
"[What matters most is] the blessing and the commitment before God."
„der Segen und das Bekenntnis vor Gott"
Speaking to the Märkische Allgemeine while unmarried and expecting her second child, she said she and her partner had planned to marry the following year anyway.
"The industry must hold its own independently."
„Die Industrie muss sich unabhängig behaupten."
As environment state secretary she defended feed-in cuts, arguing that the EEG should become a "Marktfähigkeitsmodell".
"As part of the restructuring at E.ON SE I will take on a leadership role within the company on 1 January 2020."
„Im Rahmen der Umstrukturierungen bei der Eon SE werde ich zum 1. Januar 2020 eine Leitungsfunktion innerhalb des Unternehmens übernehmen."
The role became the chief executive post at Westenergie, E.ON's largest subsidiary.
"It's about picking up speed immediately. The rest of the world isn't sleeping."
„Es geht darum, umgehend Fahrt aufzunehmen. Der Rest der Welt schläft nicht."
As chair of the National Hydrogen Council she criticised slow implementation of the hydrogen strategy, adding that electricity costs were "der größte Kostentreiber" in electrolysis.
"The phase-out has been completed. A return to nuclear power requires not only money, but also the trust of the companies…"
Shortly after taking office. English rendering by Clean Energy Wire; the German original was not checked.
"Demographic change and ever-rising life expectancy make it unavoidable: working lifetimes must increase."
„Der demografische Wandel und die weiter steigende Lebenserwartung machen es unumgänglich: Die Lebensarbeitszeit muss steigen."
In the same FAZ interview: "Im internationalen Vergleich arbeiten die Deutschen im Durchschnitt vergleichsweise wenig."
"All this makes our power system unnecessarily expensive. I want to change that."
„All das macht unser Stromsystem unnötig teurer. Das will ich ändern."
To the Augsburger Allgemeine, arguing that new small PV systems pay for themselves without support (reported in indirect speech).
"The expansion of renewable energy is undoubtedly a great success – almost 60 per cent of our electricity already comes from wind, sun and co."
„Der Ausbau der Erneuerbaren Energien ist zweifellos ein großer Erfolg – heute stammen schon fast 60 Prozent unseres Stroms aus Wind, Sonne und Co."
Prefaced her case for a cost-focused ten-point plan.
"Ukraine faces its fourth winter of war and Russia is intensifying its attacks on Ukraine's energy supply."
On a visit focused on repairing Ukraine's energy grid. English as reported in wire copy; the German original was not found.
Paraphrase At the conference she linked defence capability to competitiveness, arguing that economic policy is therefore always security policy as well. The wording is known only from a search excerpt of a ministry press release and is not quoted here.
"the phaseout of nuclear was a huge mistake, a huge mistake and we miss this energy"
Spoken in English to the energy industry conference. She had voted for the phase-out in 2011.
"For the very first time, we are creating the framework for an industrial electricity price that specifically relieves the energy-intensive industries."
„Erstmals überhaupt schaffen wir den Rahmen für einen Industriestrompreis, mit dem wir speziell die für Deutschland wichtigen energieintensiven Industrien entlasten."
"I was never active in the gas lobby."
„Ich war nie in der Gaslobby tätig."
She also said Westenergie's business "umfasst kein Gasgeschäft". Contested Critics pointed to the gas network run by its subsidiary Westnetz. At the same event she defended the government's response to the fuel-price shock as quick and decisive.
"Now that technical and regulatory foundations are built, economic aspects come to the fore in building a hydrogen market."
„Nach dem Aufbau technischer und regulatorischer Grundlagen rücken nun beim Aufbau eines Wasserstoffmarktes die wirtschaftlichen Aspekte stärker in den Vordergrund."
"We are ending the EEG as an all-inclusive, worry-free package."
„Wir beenden das EEG als Rundum-sorglos-Paket."
"That was a grave wrong decision."
„Das war eine schwere Fehlentscheidung."
Headline quote of an interview with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, dated 5 August 2026 according to German Wikipedia.
Reiche spoke for the government as the Bundestag began deliberations on its renewable energy reform. The Bundestag's text archive lists her as a speaker and links the video; no transcript excerpt had been verified for this page, so no quotation is reproduced.
From the 2012 solar debate to the 2026 EEG reform, the largest group of statements concerns what energy costs and who pays. Her framing is consistent: support schemes that once made sense now make the system "unnötig teurer", and maturing technologies should compete. Critics answer that this protects incumbents and slows the transition.
Hydrogen, CO2 storage and nuclear power recur. On hydrogen she moved from urging speed as council chair to emphasising markets as minister. On nuclear she moved from voting for the 2011 phase-out to calling it a grave error, while stating that a return is not on the table.
Her statements on marriage in 2002 and on working lives in 2025 are the ones that reached furthest beyond energy circles. Both drew criticism from within her own political camp as well as from opponents, and both are still cited in profiles of her.
Analysis Her most quoted lines share a register: short, declarative sentences about cost and realism. "Das will ich ändern", "Die Lebensarbeitszeit muss steigen", "Wir beenden das EEG als Rundum-sorglos-Paket". They are written to travel as headlines, and they have.
The archive also shows positions changing. In 2011 she voted for the nuclear phase-out; in 2026 she called it "a huge mistake", while ruling out a return. In 2021, as hydrogen council chair, she urged the government to pick up speed; as minister she has dropped the fixed electrolysis target in favour of a market-led approach.
Some of her most consequential statements are contested on the facts, notably her April 2026 claim that Westenergie had no gas business. Those are flagged in the entries and examined on the controversies page.