German utility companies can afford the cost of decommissioning their nuclear power plants, the Ministry of the Economy said on Saturday
The ministry is backing legislation, which has not yet been approved, that seeks to seal the fate of utilities regarding decommissioning costs. It would also set up a commission that would review decommissioning costs ongoing.
The ministry estimates utilities – EON SE, RWE AG, Energie Baden- Wuerttemberg AG, Vattenfall AB, and Stadtwerke Muenchen GmbH – would require from $28.44 billion to $87.6 billion for decommissioning their plants. However, “We consider scenarios with high provisions improbable,” said Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel.
The government's assessment is an endorsement of an accounting audit that was done by Warth & Klein Grant Thornton AG. Their report said German utilities have $43.5 billion in reserve that can be used for decommissioning the plants. That sum "completely reflect(s) the cost," of shutting down the plants, Gabriel said in an e-mailed statement.
Germany decided in 2011 to back out of nuclear power entirely, allowing the plants to operate until 2022 before shutting down.
The decision was a reaction to the nuclear power plant disaster in March 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan.