Hutton outlines closure caveat

New nuclear power station operators will be required by law to set aside money for their eventual decommissioning and waste costs, business secretary John Hutton said today.

Draft guidance published today sets out how clauses in the Energy Bill requiring operators of new nuclear power stations to meet the full cost of decommissioning and their full share of waste management costs would work.

Companies would be required to demonstrate detailed and costed plans for decommissioning, waste management and disposal, before they begin construction of a nuclear power station. Companies will also be required to set money aside in a secure and independent fund and have additional security in place to supplement the fund. New plants will have to have an active fund from the first day of operation.

In ensuring these safeguards, the secretary of state will draw on advice from the Nuclear Liabilities Financing Assurance Board, which is being set up to provide independent advice on the suitability of decommissioning programmes.