German draft deal agrees nuke exit, sets no date

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

German draft deal agrees nuke exit, sets no date

BERLIN, June 8 (Reuters) - German utilities have struck a broad 
framework deal with the government to phase out nuclear power but 
have yet to solve the key issue of when to shut down the last plant, 
a draft of the agreement obtained by Reuters on Thursday showed. 

The document, which agrees to end reprocessing of nuclear waste by 
July 1, 2005, gives no deadline for a complete shutdown of Germany's 
19 nuclear power stations that Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder promised 
his junior coalition partners, the Greens. 

But it says that any timetable for the future lifespan of the plants, 
which produce about 30 percent of Germany's electricity, will start 
counting from January 1, 2000. 

The government is pushing for a 30-year deadline for the final plant 
shutdown, while the power industry wants 35 years. 

``The utilities respect the decision of the government to end the use 
of nuclear power in a regulated way even through they have a 
different opinion of the matter,'' the text reads. 

``The government and the utilities agree that this agreement and its 
fulfillment will not lead to damages claims.'' 

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and the chief executives of Germany's 
four leading power companies RWE, Veba, Viag and Energie Baden-
Wuerttemberg will hold talks to approve the deal on Wednesday next 
week, sources close to the discussions told Reuters. 

The prospects for a successful conclusion to the talks, which 
Economics Minister Werner Mueller and Greens Environment Minister 
Juergen Trittin will also attend, were good, the sources said. 

DISPUTED PLANT HOLDS UP A DEAL 

The draft was ready in mid-April, the sources added, but has been 
delayed by disagreements on the fate of the Muelheim-Kaerlich plant, 
which was mothballed in 1988 as an earthquake security measure after 
just 13 months of service. 

Germany's coalition government of Social Democrats and 
environmentalist Greens, who have fought for an end to nuclear power 
since the 1970s, had hoped for a deal by this summer. 

The output each nuclear power plant is allowed to have over their 
remaining lifespan will be fixed under the deal and regulated by 
Germany's nuclear safety authority. 

But the industry has won a key concession allowing these power 
entitlements to be transferred to other plants to maximise 
efficiency, thereby further blurring the issue of when Germany will 
finally end its use of nuclear power. 

Schroeder met RWE Chief Executive Dietmar Kuhnt on Wednesday to 
thrash out whether Muelheim-Kaerlich's power credits could be 
transferred across the industry in return for RWE dropping a damages 
claim against the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. 

No details of what was agreed were immediately available. 

Under the draft deal, both sides also agreed to work together on 
supplying environmentally acceptable and competitive energy while 
maintaining as many jobs as possible. 

The government also pledged not to alter Germany's safety standards 
for nuclear power plants and promised not to take any policy 
initiatives, such as new tax laws, that discriminated against the 
industry. 

Although the ban on transporting waste for reprocessing comes into 
effect in 2005, utilities are urged to do everything possible to end 
the practice as soon as possible and store waste in temporary dumps 
until a final storage site is set up. 

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Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
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