Atomic lawsuit
May 31, 2011
The largest energy company in Germany has said it will consider legal action against the government for keeping a tax on spent fuel rods in place, despite backtracking on a decision to extend the life of Germany's nuclear plants by an average of 12 years.
E.ON said Tuesday that the government's plan of shutting down the plants in 2022 will mean losses worth billions of euros.
"The company…expects the necessary compensation for the losses…connected with the decision," E.ON said in a statement.
"The company will put down its losses in concrete figures, present them to the government and will initially look for negotiations, in order to avoid a legal dispute."
Germany's about-face comes in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. German Chancellor Angela Merkel had long been a proponent of extending the lifespan of Germany's 17 nuclear plants, but has since changed her tune.
The original plans of her coalition government reversed a decision made by a previous coalition of the Greens and Social Democrats, two parties currently in the opposition. Last year's legislation also introduced the spent fuel rod tax, which was agreed to by the energy companies with the understanding that most of Germany's plants would be running well past 2022.
Author: Matt Zuvela (AFP, dpa)
Editor: Martin Kuebler