EDF received a ministerial order from the French government late last week detailing the anticipated impact of the Cigéo nuclear-waste storage project on the company’s finances.
The Cigéo Project is a proposed facility that would house the nuclear byproducts of French nuclear activities. EDF, alongside AREVA and CEA, will be tasked with the eventual operation and financing of the project, should it be finalized. An earlier Power News Wire article said the project could begin development as early as 2020 if regulatory authorities approve it.
France’s Ministry of Ecology, Sustainability and Energy issued the order, which said the total cost of the project is estimated at approximately $27.2 billion, based on the economic conditions of 2011, as opposed to lower estimates taken by the company prior to the report.
EDF said increases in the anticipated provisional costs associated with the project will have a negative impact on its post-tax income for 2015. The company said its board of directors will be tasked with determining the full impact of provisional costs on dividends to be proposed at the next general shareholders meeting.
EDF said that based on the ministerial order, costs are expected to be updated on a regular basis.
