Keeping nuclear power plants open longer threatens to cost the government around 1.5 billion euros because electricity prices are falling faster than expected. According to Het Laatste Nieuws, this is evident from a report that the international investment bank Lazard drew up on behalf of the government.
Source: BELGA
Yesterday at 6:05 am
If current electricity prices continue in the coming years, extending the lifespan of Doel 4 and Tihange 3 will cost Belgium approximately 146 million euros per year. Over the entire ten-year period, this amounts to almost 1.5 billion euros.
This is a consequence of the deal that the government concluded with Engie at the end of last year. The agreement states that the French operator of the Belgian state’s power stations will receive a guaranteed price for the electricity generated. If the electricity yields more, the surplus flows to the Belgian state. But if it is sold for less, the Belgian government will match.
The limit is concretely 81 euros per MWh, and the government assumed that the electricity price would only fall below this from 2028. But the wholesale market today only pays 64 euros per MWh for 2027. Although no one has a crystal ball, experts believe there is a good chance that the electricity price will show a downward trend in the coming years. According to estimates, the costs could even reach 1.8 billion in the worst case.
The office of federal energy minister Tinne Van der Straeten says in a response that the guaranteed price that Engie receives is cost-based and therefore mainly shows that nuclear energy is not as cheap as some claim. At the same time, the government also points out that the agreement with Engie was also intended to make us more energy independent.
