U.K. Nuclear Operators Must Pay for Decommissioning

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aE76ahRRlHPo&refer=uk

U.K. Nuclear Operators Must Pay for Decommissioning

By Robert Hutton and Mark Deen

Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Gordon Brown will require companies that build nuclear power plants in the U.K. to take on liabilities for decommissioning those stations, when he sets out rules for the industry later this week.

``Owners and operators would have to set aside funds to cover the full costs of decommissioning and their share of the long-term management and disposal costs of waste,'' Brown's spokesman, Michael Ellam, said today in a briefing.

Decommissioning costs, which will top 48 billion pound ($95 billion) for 21 existing U.K. nuclear facilities, are part of Brown's plans to build a new generation of plants. Britain needs to replace a third of its power stations including its nuclear reactors within a decade.

The government will spell out its plans on Jan. 10. Business Secretary John Hutton will make a statement to Parliament setting out the government's recommendation on whether to support new nuclear power plants.

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