Early shutdown of Swedish nuclear units upheld

OKG’s parent company, E.ON, has upheld a previous policy decision that will prematurely shut down Sweden's Oskarshamn Units 1 and 2, OKG announced on Wednesday.

The company said the third unit at the facility -- the largest nuclear reactor at the facility -- will continue its normal operations.

“There will still be major development possibilities at OKG, particularly now when we will have three nuclear facilities in three entirely different phases of the life cycle,” OKG Managing Director Johan Svenningsson said. “In order to have maximum safety in all situations, we need employees with special competence and qualifications.”

The company states that safety concerns are not the reason for this decision, which is instead due to the possibilities of profit generation being limited as a result of increased nuclear capacity taxes and additional requirements on further investments in these facilities.

“This is naturally a tremendously sad decision for me as well as for our employees,” Svenningsson said. “Any immediate dismissal notices due to the decision on the shutdown are not considered necessary in the short term, but planning has been initiated regarding adjusting the organization based on the conditions that we now have to adapt to. Such a process will obviously be handled in a responsible manner with focus on the safety.”

Unit 2 will not be restarted nor will it receive any future investment benefits, and Unit 1 will continue operations until a final shutdown date is established.