nuclear-news

Top legal adviser backs German government levy on nuclear fuel

RWE, EON Fall as Court Aide Backs German Nuclear-Fuel Tax by Stephanie Bodoni  Stefan Nicola
February 3, 2015 (Bloomberg) — EON SE fell the most in a month and RWE AG had its steepest plunge since mid-December after an adviser to the European Union’s top court backed a German levy on nuclear fuel that the country’s biggest utilities have been fighting as illegal.

EON declined 3.92 percent, to 13.375 euros a share at the close in Frankfurt, and RWE fell 4.55 percent to 23.905 euros a share after Advocate General Maciej Szpunar of the EU Court of Justice said in a non-binding opinion that the German nuclear-fuel tax doesn’t violate EU rules. The Luxembourg-based court follows such advice in most cases.

German’s unprecedented switch to renewables has forced traditional utilities to close nuclear reactors and seen power prices slide for a fourth year. Essen-based RWE hasn’t ruled out following EON’s lead in breaking itself up.

Germany’s so-called energy shift has forced utilities to close nuclear reactors and undermined power prices. The nuclear fuel tax also contributed to harming the companies’ profitability from 2011. EON’s plan to break itself up is the most radical response yet to the changes.

Nuclear exit is at the core of other pending litigation in Germany and the country’s top court is reviewing the constitutionality of the nuclear-exit laws and the fuel tax. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-03/german-nuclear-fuel-tax-in-line-with-eu-law-aide-says

February 4, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, Germany, Legal