Liability

Decommissioning and disposal

Owners of nuclear facilities bear the costs of decommissioning and disposal

The owners of nuclear facilities must bear the costs of decommissioning and the disposal of radioactive waste in accordance with the polluter-pays principle. They bear financial responsibility and make ongoing contributions to the decommissioning and disposal funds. However, the obligation to bear the costs and the cost risk are not transferred to the funds, but remain with the owners of the nuclear facilities.

Obligation to make additional contributions

If the return is not achieved during a five-year investment period, the owners of the nuclear facilities must pay higher contributions to the funds. If, on two consecutive balance sheet dates, the accumulated capital falls below a range specified by the Commission, the Commission will initiate corrective measures. The Commission has set a deviation from the target level of the funds of -10% as the lower bandwidth.

As a result of this mechanism, the accumulation of funds is not unduly dependent on the developments in the capital market. The owners of nuclear facilities must pay their full contributions into the funds in good time. Furthermore, since the 2016 cost study, a comprehensive cost block for risks and opportunities has been included alongside the decommissioning and disposal costs (base costs), which are calculated with a very high degree of reliability, and a cost component for forecasting inaccuracies. The total costs calculated on the basis of this new cost structure are robust and reliable. This ensures that, by the end of the contribution period, i.e. that is, upon completion of the decommissioning of the relevant nuclear facility and thus around 15-20 years after was taken out of service, the necessary funds for decommissioning and disposal will be available.

Cost-bearing cascade

If the contributions made by an owner to the funds are insufficient, the owner must make up the shortfall from their own resources. If the latter are insufficient to cover these costs, the funds will initially cover the remaining costs from their own resources. The owner must repay the amount owed, including interest, to the funds within a period set by the Federal Council.

If the owner of a nuclear facility is insolvent and is therefore unable to make a payment to or reimburse the funds within the deadline set by the Federal Council, the remaining owners are liable in proportion to their share of the contributions. They must make such additional contributions from their own funds. If the other owners are unable to make up the shortfall, the Federal Assembly will decide whether, and to what extent, the federal government should contribute towards the costs.

Consequently, there is no automatic burden on the public purse. The federal government is only at the very end of the five-tier cost-bearing cascade. Further safeguards ensure that the owners of nuclear facilities finance decommissioning and disposal reliably and comprehensively.