BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Olaf Scholz has ordered ministers to prepare to keep all of Germany's three remaining nuclear plants running until mid-April to fend off a possible energy crunch.

Scholz’s office said the German leader announced the decision Monday in a letter to the Cabinet.

The move overrides the views of two coalition partners who had been locked in a bitter debate over the issue.

Economy Minister Robert Habeck of the environmentalist Greens had argued that only two should continue operating beyond the scheduled shutdown on Dec. 31.

Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the pro-business Free Democrats had suggested all three could continue operating beyond April.