German utility company E.ON said Thursday a key policy issue in Germany remains unresolved, with a huge question still unanswered: How will the country organize and fund its nuclear shutdown move?, Kallanish Energy learns. Company CEO Johannes Teyssen explained the group’s three remaining nuclear power plants will be operated by German electricity company PreussenElektra until the end of their lifetimes, “with a high degree of reliability and largely independently.” PreussenElektra will also be responsible for dismantling the plants and disposing of their nuclear waste. However, the business will continue to affect E.ON’s earnings. “That’s why the outcome of the political process is so important,” Teyssen said. “As far as I can tell, the commission appointed to make recommendations for the funding of the phaseout of nuclear energy has done its work in a constructive atmosphere. At the end of February, however, it decided a number of primarily technical issues still need to be resolved,” the CEO said. The commission’s work is now expected to continue through the end of April, according to E.ON, who said it will continue playing a constructive role in the process.
Kallanish Energy 11th March 2016 read more »
RWE, Germany’s second-biggest utility, is facing open rebellion from key shareholders over its decision last month to scrap its dividend – a move that has blown a gaping hole in the finances of towns already struggling to cope with Germany’s refugee crisis. Municipal shareholders, who own around 24 per cent of RWE’s stock, have hinted that they might retaliate by refusing to extend local electricity and gas network licences with the company, many of which expire by the end of the year, or by delivering a no-confidence vote in management at the annual meeting next month. The stand-off comes as RWE struggles to cope with massive changes in Germany’s energy landscape that are threatening the survival of its utilities. The country’s radical shift to solar and wind energy and exit from nuclear power have badly damaged RWE and Eon, its rival, by squeezing margins in conventional coal and gas-fired power generation and sending wholesale electricity prices into a tailspin.
FT 10th March 2016 read more »