Germany’s top utilities said they were nearing a deal with the government over funding for storing radioactive waste, denying a media report that said the cost to the firms of the agreement had risen. The country’s top four energy groups — E.ON, RWE, EnBW and Vattenfall — are in final talks with Berlin to nail down the details of a deal proposed by a government-appointed commission in April. Under the plan, the utilities are to transfer 23.3 billion euros ($26.14 billion) in funds to the state, along with responsibility and liability for storing their nuclear waste. A final deal, which will outline the terms and timing of the payments, is expected within weeks, a spokesman for E.ON said on Monday. “I assume there will be a solution for the four utilities,” he said.
Reuters 12th Sept 2016 read more »
Germany is close to an agreement with its utilities that will see the government assume the risks and liabilities of storing private-sector nuclear waste in return for a €26.4 billion ($29.6 billion) cash payment, daily Boersen-Zeitung reported on Saturday. An initial recommendation from an expert commission in April was for Germany’s power firms, led by industry leaders E.ON and RWE, to pay a total €23.3 billion to remove unwanted long-term liability for the underground storage of nuclear waste from power plants. Boersen-Zeitung cited sources close to the commission as saying the final agreed amount included a 35 percent top-up on financial provisioning already set aside by the companies to account for the risk of unforeseen cost inflation in storing the waste safely. Under the deal, utilities would by year’s end pay their respective contributions in cash into a public-sector trust.
Japan Times 12th Sept 2016 read more »