E.ON chief executive Johannes Teyssen said the company would work hard to regain people's trust in nuclear energy and that "explicitly included possible higher safety standards", Germany's Focus magazine reported on Saturday.

Japan's nuclear crisis has renewed scepticism about the use of atomic energy.

In an interview with Der Spiegel magazine, Teyssen also warned that a complete exit from nuclear energy would lead to a breakdown of Germany's power supply network.

After Japan's crisis, the German government said on Tuesday it would shut seven nuclear power plants that had begun operating before 1980 at least until June, leaving open whether they will ever start up again.

It also has to decide whether to go back to an 11 year old programme to close all 17 of its reactors or to extend the operating life of some of the younger plants beyond what was laid down in the original agreement. Last autumn it had ruled to extend their operating life.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday called for the European Union to set common safety standards for nuclear power stations following Japan's crisis.