BRATISLAVA, September 5, (WEBNOVINY) — Operators of nuclear power plants in Slovakia may have to pay more for the tail-end of the nuclear fuel cycle as of next year. This would be based on the Economy Ministry’s proposal for annual valorization of the fixed component of the compulsory contribution paid by entities licensed to operate nuclear power plants that is currently fixed at EUR 11,600 per megawatt of installed capacity by the inflation rate registered in the previous year. The Economy Ministry also wants operators of nuclear power plants to additionally pay off an aggregate inflation since July 2006, when the National Nuclear Fund Act took effect, until the end of this year.
The Economy Ministry is also planning to increase the variable part of the compulsory contribution that holders of licenses for operation of nuclear power facilities pay to secure enough resources for decommissioning of nuclear power plants. The variable component of the compulsory contributions currently stands at 5.95 percent of the selling price of electricity generated by a nuclear power plant. The Economy Ministry suggests increasing the variable component of the contribution to 7.33 percent in the revision to the National Nuclear Fund Act.
Nuclear power plants in Slovakia are operated by the power utility Slovenske Elektrarne, a.s. (SE). SE paid EUR 55.5 million in the National Nuclear Fund last year. The fund that managed money indented to cover costs of decommissioning of nuclear power plants and handling used nuclear fuel and radioactive material registered EUR 736.5 million in its accounts as of the end of last year.
Electricity consumers also contribute to coverage of the historical debt arising from the disposal of nuclear waste besides the operators of nuclear power plants. Consumers pay EUR 3 from every consumed megawatt hour to the National Nuclear Fund. Based on Economy Ministry’s assumptions, electricity consumers should pay EUR 70 million to the fund for nuclear waste disposal this year.
SITA
