Germany's international electricity trade deficit was at 2.29 billion euros ($2.49 billion) last year, driven by the closure of its last nuclear power plant and imports of cheaper foreign power, Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper reported on Monday.

Germany imported electricity at a total cost of 5.7 billion euros in 2023, offset by export revenues of 3.5 billion euros, pushing Europe's largest economy into a negative electricity trade balance for the first time in years, the newspaper reported, citing data by the Federal Network Agency.

The agency said that in 2023, 54 terawatts, or around 11% of total German electricity consumption, were imported, while exports amounted to 42 terawatts.

A rise in wholesale electricity imports from neighboring countries lowered German consumer power prices, the agency said, adding that Germany had sufficient generation capacity to cover its needs.

"If electricity was imported, it was because the electricity was cheaper abroad," a spokesperson for the agency told Augsburger Allgemeine.

Germany pulled the plug on its last three nuclear power stations last March, ending a six-decade program, as Berlin enacts its plan for fully renewable electricity generation by 2035.

The jump in electricity imports also helped slash German coal-fired power generation and greenhouse emissions last year, putting the country on track to reach its 2030 climate goals of cutting emissions by 65% compared with 1990 and becoming carbon neutral by 2045.