When Germany announced its plan to phase out nuclear power stations last month, shares in the big four German power companies rose. The agreement made with the German government would see Eon, RWE, EnBW and Vattenfall pay a nuclear-fuel rods tax of EUR2.3bn until 2016 - but the market had been expecting worse.
But today Moody's has warned that the impact of the tax might yet force a downgrade of the companies' credit ratings.
FRANKFURT, Oct. 4 (Reuters) - German utilities' gamble of sacrificing near-term profits in exchange for extending the lifespans of their 17 nuclear plants is pressuring shares and may misfire if the political situation changes.
Last month, the government agreed with the four operators of Germany's nuclear power plants to extend the plants' life by 12 years on average in exchange for at least 31 billions euros ($42.45 billion) of payments.
The German opposition has reacted angrily over revelations that the government, as part of its decision to extend the life of nuclear power in Germany to the mid 2030s, struck a deal with the nuclear industry to shield it from unfavorable future political decisions.
(Reuters) - Two key German ministers took different positions on Monday on the length of time that nuclear power plants should be extended after Chancellor Angela Merkel reduced expectations for a long extension.
LINGEN, Germany - (Dow Jones)- German Chancellor Angela Merkel Thursday said she is in favor of the country's nuclear power plant operators making further financial contributions in return for longer reactor operating lives, which would come on top of a tax on nuclear fuel her government has proposed to help reduce the public budget deficit.
Germany's nuclear power plants operators have threatened to pull out of nuclear power generation in protest of a proposed tax. The general debate over the future of German nuclear power has heated up again.
Controversial negotiations are underway in Germany between the government and energy providers as companies threaten to shut down their nuclear power plants over a proposed tax on fuel rods and Germany's debate over its nuclear energy future reignites.
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Germany’s nuclear power industry is no closer to knowing how long its plants may operate than five months ago when Chancellor Angela Merkel’s new government assumed power and promised to extend their lives.
Rifts inside her center-right cabinet over the merit of rivalling renewables energies and a local election potentially threatening her party’s leadership of a key state have delayed steps to free the 17 reactors from closure in the coming decade.
The European Nuclear Energy Leadership Academy (ENELA) is going to open in Germany to attract university graduates to the nuclear energy sector and train future leaders in the field.
The founding treaty of ENELA was signed here on Thursday by six European nuclear energy companies, which are shareholders of the academy.
FRANKFURT, Oct 20 (Reuters) - German nuclear power plant operators EnBW and RWE confirmed they will keep two reactors running beyond 2009, when a general election might change nuclear policy.
The two companies on Monday confirmed a weekend media report which said the Neckarwestheim 1 and Biblis A installations will run at least well into 2010, although under the nuclear exit law they should have shut next year.
BERLIN, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The southern German nuclear power station Neckarwestheim 2 reopened on Sept. 14 after a maintenance outage begun on Aug. 23/24, operator utility EnBW said in a statement on Monday.
Wholesale power traders had expected news about the 1,400-megawatt unit to factor this into supply calculations.
