Sweden Doubles Waste Fee for Nuclear Power Plants

Sweden's government has decided to almost double a fee nuclear power plant operators pay to the nuclear waste fund, in order to help it cover the rising costs of decommissioning, the environment ministry said on Thursday.

 

Sweden's state-owned utility Vattenfall operates Forsmark and Ringhals power plants, and Germany's E.ON operates Oskarshamn plant. Finnish utility Fortum , which operates Loviisa power plant, also has stakes in Forsmark and Oskarshamn.

 

The nuclear industry will have to pay 0.04 Swedish crowns per kilowatt-hour from 2015-2017, up from 0.022 crowns today, the government decided. In 2013 the fees to the waste fund, a government authority, amounted to 2.5 billion Swedish crowns ($324.41 million).

 

"Nuclear power must bear its own costs and the government's decision to increase the nuclear waste fee makes this possible," said Climate and Environment Minister Asa Romson.

 

Nuclear power has come under increased pressure in Sweden after general elections in September when the Social Democrats and the Green Party formed a minority cabinet. The coalition fell in a budget vote earlier this month, and a snap election is due in March.

 

The industry has warned that a combination of rising taxes and extra costs for new safety measures could lead to earlier shutdown of older plants, and potentially higher power prices.