The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has today published the expert opinion on the provisions made by companies supplying nuclear energy. The minister Gabriel says: “Companies are able to shoulder the costs of the nuclear phase-out”.
The expert opinionis the first to provide the general public with a transparent break-down of the expected costs of the nuclear phase out in Germany.
The €38.3 billion in provisions made by the companies concerned are based on cost estimations of around €47.5 billion in current prices. These estimates made by the companies are higher than the international average – with dismantling costs in Germany estimated at €857 million per reactor. The auditors declared that the provisions of €38.3 billion made by the companies were calculated correctly by the companies.
In their assessment of the energy companies’ assets, the experts concluded that – together – they are able to fulfil the legal requirements with regard to the disposal of nuclear waste. Before deduction of the provisions made for the dismantling of nuclear power plants and the disposal of nuclear waste, the market-oriented net assets of the energy companies (i.e. after all other liabilities and provisions) stand at roughly €83 billion, which is available for covering the costs. This means that the companies’ revenues are sufficent for them to be able to cover the disposal costs they will incur up to 2099.
Evidently, forecasts of this kind are highly uncertain by nature.
