German utilities E.ON AG (EOAN.XE) and RWE AG (RWE.XE) have agreed in
principle to transfer power production quotas from E.ON's decommissioned Stade
nuclear power plant to the Biblis A reactor, which would allow RWE to operate
Biblis A longer.
E.ON's new Chief Executive Johannes Teyssen Thursday told shareholders at the
company's annual general meeting that the two utilities have reached an
agreement, but added that the contract hasn't yet been signed.
The deal would allow RWE to operate Biblis A longer than is currently legal
under
Germany
's
existing nuclear phase-out laws.
Under the laws, all of the country's remaining 17 nuclear plants will have to
be shut down by around 2022. Biblis A is the country's oldest operating reactor
and would be one of the next nuclear power plants to be shut down.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's government, however, has pledged to postpone the
nuclear phase-out to help the country achieve ambitious climate change targets.
The government plans to present an energy roadmap this autumn, which is
expected to include details about a possible postponement of the nuclear exit.
RWE has been pursuing a multi-track strategy to achieve a longer operating life
of its 1.2 gigawatt reactor Biblis A.
In March RWE said it will run the reactor at reduced capacity, adding this
would allow it to operate the power plant for about a year as opposed to only
six months if the facility were to be operated at full capacity.
E.ON's Teyssen also Thursday said that the company doesn't expect the Kruemmel
nuclear power plant in northern
Germany
to
resume power generation before the end of 2010. "We assume that Kruemmel
won't be back online before Jan.1, 2011," Teyssen said.
The 1.3 gigawatt reactor Kruemmel, which is operated by E.ON's competitor
Vattenfall Europe AG, was unexpectedly shut down in July following a technical
fault at the 25-year power plant only 10 days after the end of a two-year
shutdown caused by a similar problem in 2007 and which started a fire at the
plant.
Teyssen's expectation for a relaunch of Kruemmel is more cautious compared with
forecasts by Vattenfall last month. On Apr. 23, a spokeswoman for Berlin-based
Vattenfall Europe said the company expects the reactor to resume power
production in the fourth quarter of 2010.
E.ON and
Vattenfall own 50% in Kruemmel each.