The European Commission has approved a Slovakian plan to reduce nuclear levies for certain electro-intensive users under the bloc’s state aid rules.
The commission ruled that the plan to somewhat reduce nuclear levies for those companies whose electricity consumption is particularly intensive would contribute to the competitiveness of these companies without undue distortion to the single market.
Slovakia proposed to begin the new levy reduction scheme in 2019. It relates to the funding of the country’s national nuclear fund, which was established in 2006 to co-ordinate the decommissioning of obsolete nuclear power plants, and has been funded since 2011 by a ‘nuclear levy’, which is paid by all electricity consumers.
What are the details of the planned reduction?
Slovakian authorities became concerned that for electro-intensive industrial users, the nuclear levy was imposing an unfair financial burden. This is particularly the case for sectors such as refined petroleum products and steel and aluminium production, which are exposed to the challenges of international trade.
By offering to reduce nuclear levies for these companies by an amount which correlates to their energy use, Slovakia hopes to decrease their financial burden compared to other companies, and will serve to make the market fairer for electro-intensive businesses.
What did the European Commission conclude?
Following its investigation, the commission approved the measure and issued a statement indicating that it conforms to the EU’s state aid regulations, in particular because the reduction on the levies is only available for companies exposed to international trade, and because they are proportionate.
In the commission’s view, the reductions ‘provide a sustainable financing basis for the safe and timely decommissioning of obsolete nuclear power plants in Slovakia without putting at risk the competitiveness of companies exposed to international trade’.
Concerns have been raised in a number of EU member states about the need to decommission obsolete nuclear power plants for safety reasons, and Slovakia’s National Nuclear Fund has been used to raise funds for the decommissioning of two nuclear power plants in the country.
