In 2019 the large electricity groups reached an agreement with the Government and with Enresa, the public company responsible for nuclear waste, to implement a staged shutdown schedule for all nuclear plants. The protocol, signed by Endesa, Iberdrola, Naturgy and EDP, owners of the plants, called for the closures to begin in 2027 and to proceed in steps, leading to a complete nuclear blackout by 2035. The administration led by Pedro Sánchez remains firm on not extending the operating life of the reactors and has no intention of changing the agreed calendar.
Endesa, the largest nuclear operator in Spain alongside Iberdrola, both with stakes in all plants, has publicly stated its intention to ask the Government for permission to delay closures and keep plants running beyond the planned schedule. “I think longer operation is worth considering, and we will propose it to the Government. We will try to persuade them, at least from Endesa’s side,” said José Bogas, Endesa’s chief executive, during a press briefing tied to the presentation of annual financial results.
“Intellectually I favor extending the life of the nuclear plants. If the Government, which is responsible for energy policy, decides otherwise, I will accept it. The current protocol starts closures in 2027 with Almaraz and ends in 2035 with Trillo. This is the reality,” Bogas added. He stressed that the International Energy Agency, the energy arm of the OECD, views it as unlikely to meet Europe’s 2050 decarbonization target without doubling nuclear capacity to back the large-scale rollout of new renewables.
Differences among utilities
After years of caution and avoiding a clash with the Government over potential delay, the Nuclear Forum, which includes Endesa, Iberdrola, Naturgy and EDP, has begun openly defending the need to extend reactor life. The major utilities, however, maintain divergent public positions on the issue.
The Iberdrola president Ignacio Sánchez Galán recently noted that more electricity system stability comes from continued nuclear generation, but he conditioned support for extending plant life on regulatory guarantees of profitability. Naturgy chief Francisco Reynés, by contrast, said this week that electric-supply security will be maintained even if all nuclear plants close on the scheduled dates, thanks to the expansion of renewables and the stable output from gas-fired plants (Naturgy is the leading operator of these plants in Spain).
The Nuclear Forum has launched a legal challenge at the Supreme Court to overturn the government’s plan to build seven nuclear waste repositories, citing a €3.7 billion cost overrun and opposing the final cancellation of a single repository in Villar de Cañas (Cuenca). The group also seeks a wholesale review of the taxes supporting reactors to slow the upcoming rise in charges.
The Government has pressed the big utilities and activated a process to implement a sharp 40% increase in the tax paid by nuclear plants to fund the decommissioning costs and the decades of waste management in seven nuclear cemeteries.
Tax breaks and investment incentives
The Government has set ambitious targets for new renewables in the update of the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC), the country’s green roadmap. Endesa warns that meeting these objectives will not be possible without the necessary regulatory support, including investment-friendly fiscal measures. The company argues that regulatory reforms must be advanced promptly, as delays would slow investments. “Improvements to the tax framework to facilitate reaching the targets are needed, and talks with the Government and the regulator are already ongoing. Time is precious. Any delay in regulatory changes means delays in investment,” Bogas emphasized.
Endesa also calls for faster reform of the electricity network regulations to improve returns for large electricity groups and to remove the legal cap on investments, enabling the deployment and digitalization of grids needed to accommodate more renewables. The CEO also expressed support for removing, at least gradually, the 7% electricity production tax to lower prices and publicly opposed maintaining the temporary tax on large energy firms, though he welcomed the planned modification to reduce its impact in exchange for decarbonization investments.
[Source attribution: Company statements and press events]