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How is nuclear waste management to be financed?
Managing nuclear residual products is a commitment that extends over a very long time. The Debt Office is responsible for securing the financing of nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel. This is ultimately to protect future taxpayers.
Nuclear waste fee finances
Reactor owners and other licence holders are obligated under the Financing Act to provide for the future measures necessary to handle and dispose of nuclear residual products, the decommissioning and demolition of the plants and the research required to enable this. The Debt Office has the overall responsibility to ensure the payment liability of the nuclear industry and to monitor the proper functioning of the financing system.
It is the polluter who pays – not future taxpayers.
For this reason, these companies must pay annual nuclear waste fees and provide financial collateral to the Nuclear Waste Fund. The collateral is to cover the fees that have not yet been paid. Reactor owners must also provide additional collateral so that the obligations can be fulfilled with a high degree of probability. The fees and collateral are fixed in three-year cycles.
Fees are paid by the reactor owners and other licence holders. The fees are calculated and levied in relation to the energy supplied. The fee can also be determined as an amount in SEK, for example for a licence holder who no longer supplies nuclear energy.
The Debt Office shall propose the levels of the nuclear waste fees and the collateral to be provided by the reactor companies, which the Government then decides on before each fee period. The current period covers the year 2025. For licence holders that are not reactor owners, the decision is made by the Debt Office.
| Permit holders with nuclear reactors | Nuclear waste fees | Credit risk amount (SEK million) | Risk margin (SEK million) | Pledged collateral 1 (SEK million) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forsmarks Kraftgrupp AB | 5,6 öre/kWh | 7 099 | 21 710 | 25 078 |
| OKG AB (Oskarshamn) | 8,4 öre/kWh | 6 754 | 11 771 | 16 468 |
| Ringhals AB | 10,0 öre/kWh | 8 907 | 19 328 | 25 199 |
| Barsebäck Kraft AB (BKAB) | SEK 370 million per year | 756 | 4 587 | 4 917 |
1The current collaterals are pledged according to previous credit risk amounts and risk margins. The work with collaterals according to the newly decided amounts is in progress.
| Permit holders | Nuclear waste fee 2023-2025 (SEK thousand) | Credit risk amount (SEK thousand) | Pledged collateral (SEK thousand) |
|---|---|---|---|
| AB Svafo | 254 680 | 709 687 | 709 687 |
| Vattenfall AB (regarding Ågesta Kraftvärmeverk) | 43 804 | 122 062 | 122 062 |
| Ranstad Industricentrum AB | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ranstad Mineral AB | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Studsvik Nuclear AB | 6 138 | 118 651 | 118 651 |
| Westinghouse Electric Sweden AB | 4 273 | 80 690 | 80 690 |
| Cyclife Sweden AB | 2 833 | 55 920 | 55 920 |
| Chalmers University of Technology | 103 | 2 000 | 2 000 |
| Total | 311 831 | 1 089 010 | 1 089 010 |
Disbursements from the Nuclear Waste Fund
The proceeds in the Nuclear Waste Fund amounted to SEK 82.9 billion at the end of 2024. The Debt Office decides on disbursement and application. Funded fees may be used by the payer to finance costs incurred in calculating the fees. The funds may also be used to cover certain costs of research and development, supervision by governmental authorities, examination of issues, management of funds, support for municipalities, etc.
| Recipient | Disbursed 2023 | Disbursed 2024 | Approved 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SKB, Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company | 1 442,2 | 1 859,6 | 2 302,3 |
| Barsebäck Kraft AB | 494,3 | 659,0 | 776,3 |
| OKG AB | 542,7 | 677,1 | 548,0 |
| Ringhals AB | 500,0 | 681,0 | 1 233,0 |
| AB Svafo | 195,1 | 126,8 | 72,8 |
| Vattenfall AB (regarding Ågesta Kraftvärmeverk) | 92,5 | 91,0 | 64,2 |
| Studsvik Nuclear AB | 9,5 | 9,9 | 9,2 |
| Östhammars kommun | 2,9 | 3,0 | 2,7 |
| Oskarshamns kommun | 2,1 | 1,6 | 1,5 |
| Cyclife Sweden AB | 2,9 | 3,1 | 3,1 |
| Länsstyrelsen Västra Götalands län | 0,2 | 0,2 | 0,3 |
| Sum | 3 284,5 | 4 112,3 | 5 013,5 |
Financial sustainability of the collateral
When the nuclear companies propose financial collateral to cover the fees not yet paid, and so that the liabilities can be completed with a high probability, it is the responsibility of the Debt Office to assess the value of the proposed collateral. The Debt Office then presents the results of the assessment to the Government. For reactor owners, the collateral consists of guarantees by the owners of the nuclear power companies (parent company guarantee).