nuclear-news

In a positive move, Polish utilities remove their investment in nuclear power development.

Nuclear Project Divestment Positive for Polish Utilities,   Fitch Ratings, Tue 30 Mar, 2021. -London-. The announced divestment of shares in the first nuclear power plant project in Poland to the State Treasury is positive for the credit profiles of divesting utilities, Fitch Ratings says.

For utilities, this step takes away the risk of being involved in high-risk, long-term and very capital-intensive nuclear generation projects, which are beyond the capacity of even a consortium of utilities if not backed by price-support mechanisms or state guarantees to debt. It will also let utilities concentrate on expansion in much less capital-intensive and much shorter time-to-EBITDA wind, solar and gas-fired generation……….

As per Poland’s new energy policy, the first nuclear power block is expected to start generation in 2033….
The government is planning to make nuclear generation a source of baseload electricity……….
the adoption of the country’s new energy policy in February 2021, new nuclear power programme in October 2020 and negotiations with suppliers of nuclear technology. The US’s Westinghouse Electric Company (B/Stable) is leading the race………

However, even after the final decisions with respect to location and construction are taken, the process will be lengthy and technically complex, so delays beyond the planned delivery date of 2033 are a real possibility. Most of the ongoing nuclear generation projects in Europe face multi-year delays. This strengthens our view that the announced withdrawal of PGE, ENEA and Tauron from the nuclear project company is positive for their credit profiles.

Contact:

Artur Galbarczyk
Director
+48 22 338 6291
Fitch Ratings Ireland Limited Sp. z o.o. Branch in Poland
Krolewska 16, 00-103 Warsaw

Arkadiusz Wicik
Senior Director
+48 22 338 6286

Media Relations: Adrian Simpson, London, Tel: +44 20 3530 1010, Email: adrian.simpson@thefitchgroup.com

Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com https://www.fitchratings.com/research/corporate-finance/nuclear-project-divestment-positive-for-polish-utilities-30-03-2021

April 6, 2021 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, EUROPE