E.ON’s wholly-owned subsidiary PreussenElektra GmbH has reached an agreement with the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection ( BMUV) on the basis of a possible continuation of the operation of the Isar 2 nuclear power plant after December 31, 2022. Regarding a potential continuation of the operation of the Isar 2, the operators recently had close discussions with the Federal Ministry of Economy to find a solution feasible.

“E.ON has always stated that it supports the German Government’s efforts to ensure a secure energy supply to the best of our ability. That is why we have always been willing to discuss the potential continued operation of the Isar 2 nuclear power plant, to the extent that this is requested by the German government. We continue to assume this responsibility. I am pleased that together with the operating company PreussenElektra and the federal government we have now been able to agree on the essential points to ensure a possible continuation of operations. As you know, we have been preparing for years for the decommissioning of Isar 2 after December 31, 2022. Compensation plans have been made, service providers have been contracted – we are ready to resume all these steps once again. Isar 2 is one of the most reliable power plants in the world and can make a valuable contribution to a secure energy supply in this crisis. I would especially like to thank our employees at PreussenElektra for their great flexibility in this exceptional situation,” said E.ON CEO Leonhard Birnbaum.

For the Isar 2 nuclear power plant, this means that, after appropriate preparations, it will go into a short shutdown to carry out an overhaul of the pressurizer pilot valves. After the restart, the plant can continue to operate with the existing reactor core until possibly March 2023. The federal government will decide on the actual continuation of operations by early December at the latest. If the plant were to be restarted, PreussenElektra would earn with Isar 2 next year revenues for approximately 2 TWh of electricity production. These potential revenues must be correlated with the additional costs arising from the legal regulations that would probably then apply to the recording of revenues from the electricity market. E.ON intends to use the potential revenues from the continued operation of this plant for the energy transition. If this plant does not continue to operate, the federal government will reimburse all costs generated by this effort. In the short term, a legislative procedure will be initiated, and in parallel, a contractual agreement is being developed.