28 Apr (NucNet): German nuclear utilities should pay €23.3bn ($26.4bn) into a state-run fund to help cover the costs of decommissioning reactors and spent fuel storage, the commission making recommendations to the government on storage funding said in a report released yesterday.
The 19-member Commission on the Review of the Financing of the Nuclear Phaseout, or KFK, said it had adopted the recommendation unanimously.
Germany’s nuclear utilities annually earmark so-called “provisions” for decommissioning and spent fuel storage. Currently, the utilities have €38.3bn in provisions.
The KFK wants utilities to pay an additional €23.3bn in “risk provisions” to cover potential additional costs. German utility RWE said in a statement it does not object to a state fund, but the amount the KFK is proposing is too much.
The proposal means a huge risk premium which will overburden the energy companies’ economic capabilities, RWE said.
The ministry will report its recommendations to the government, which would have to obtain the parliament’s approval to impose the additional premium.
