Nuclear phaseout compensation approved in Germany

The German government has approved compensation of energy companies RWE and Vattenfall for losses they incurred as a result of Germany's decision to phase out nuclear energy completely by 2023.

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The compensation sums will be calculated in 2023, because they depend on the development of electricity prices in Germany. In 2016, the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe said that the companies were entitled to compensation for investments rendered useless by the drastic change in energy policies.

Energy policies changed in Germany in 2011 after the Fukushima incident. In 2012, Vattenfall took its case to the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington. Vattenfall has estimated its losses to almost EUR 5 billion, not including interest payments.

This case has not been closed yet, but the German government hopes that ICSID ruling will not influence the actual future compensation payments. According to a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), decisions by international courts are inadmissible in the event of investment arguments between two EU member states.

-tk-

Article source Deutsche Welle - Germany’s international broadcaster
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