Vattenfall looks at German losses

22 June 2011

The Swedish state-owned power company, Vattenfall, has announced that it expects operating profit for the second half of this year to be impacted by SEK10 billion ($1.5 billion) due to nuclear shutdowns in Germany. That country's government decided to close all nuclear reactors built in or before 1984 in the immediate aftermath of the Fukushima accident. Among these were the Brunsbüttel and Krümmel plants, of which Vattenfall owns 66.7% and 50% respectively totalling some 1187 MWe of nuclear capacity. The company said there would be no effect on cash flow in 2011, but that it had to "impair its book value" and to "increase the provisions for dismantling the plants and the handling of nuclear fuel."