The Government’s policy on waste and decommissioning for new nuclear power stations is designed to ensure that operators make adequate arrangements to cover the full costs of decommissioning and their full share of waste management and disposal costs.
In the past the Government have found themselves called upon to cover the costs of decommissioning and waste management and disposal where nuclear power station operators have been unable to do so. The mechanism set out by the Government in the Energy Bill aim to mitigate in so far as possible against this risk for any new power stations that are built.
Paragraph 3.58 of the White Paper makes clear that the financing arrangements put in place by a nuclear operator must demonstrate that the risk of Government being called upon in this way is minimised. The operator must do this by ensuring that in addition to the accruing fund, additional financial safeguard mechanisms are in place to deal with a range of challenging scenarios. However, paragraph 3.58 recognises that in extreme circumstances the Government may be called upon to meet the costs of ensuring the protection of the public and the environment.
Government intend to publish draft guidance for public consultation in February which will give further information on what would constitute acceptable proposals for securely meeting decommissioning and waste management and disposal costs.