Germany to pay nuclear firms €2.4bn for plant closures
The German government has agreed to pay nuclear operators €2.4bn in compensation for forcing them to shut their plants early in response to the Fukushima disaster.
The sum will be made available from the general budget, ministries said on Friday.
The four affected companies include German-listed firms RWE and E.ON, as well as Vattenfall and EnBW.
RWE will collect €880m, while E.ON will take home €42.5m.
Swedish state-owned Vattenfall and German firm EnBW will be awarded €1.4bn and €80m respectively.
A Constitutional Court ruling in November had backed the companies in their complaint that the government’s previous offer was not enough.
The court called for a speedy settlement of the dispute, which was mainly pursued by Vattenfall.
In 2016, the court had ruled that while the nuclear phase-out was legal, the operators needed to be better compensated for lost production.