Juridical aspects of the financing of decommission

by Elena Kruglikova

The process of decommission of nuclear power plants (npp) has a juridical side. This experiment of analyses of legislation concerning the process of decommission of NPPs is made with data of legislative base Consultant+.

We live in a not simple time. The process of change of economical interrelation in the society, restructurization of energetic, change in the tax legislation has started and are going up to now.

So it is rather difficult for the simple citizen of RussianFederation, even if he is an active member of environmental non-governmental organization, to understand in existed abundance of laws and legislation concerning this point.

Additionally during the period when analytical walk was in the process the basic change in the state structure took place, and this in its turn will lead to the change of some laws and other legislations that are mentioned in this report. As soon as these change will took place we'll reflect them on our site.

Today the activity in the sphere of nuclear energy including the process of decommission of npp is regulated by some federal laws and legislations. First of all it is basic "Law about the use of nuclear energy" № 170-FL, adopted on 21 of November 1995. Also different aspects of the theme of security including decommission of npp are regulated by other laws and legislations, each from its side. Such laws are "Law about radiation security", "Law about environment protection", "Law about regulation of tariffs", "Law about electric energetic", "Law about industrial security of dangerous manufacturing facilities". Also there are codes "Criminal code", "Code about administrative breaking of a laws" and "Tax code". Besides federal documents there exist also regional and department ones. The goal of all laws is the guarantee of security and health of population and protection of environment on the base of main principles of the transparent and available information and participation of the population in the process of management including the process of decommission of npp.

In accordance with the terminology of the "Law about the use of nuclear energy" nuclear power plant is included in the list of facilities that have common name "nuclear installations" (article 3), and by the words "operating organization" is meant organization formed in accordance with the legislation of Russian Federation and adopted as usable for exploitation of nuclear installation and has license for this (article 34). For nuclear power plants operating organization is Rosenergoatom. According to this Law npp are in the federal property. (Article 5).

Financing of the decommission process is the most important question for the realization of it. To day the Resolution of the Government of RF (of Kasyanov) № 68 from 30 of January 2002 is acting (it is edited in the pat of some terms by of the Resolution № 737 from the 5-th of December 2003). This resolution adopted the "Rules of deduction by enterprises and organizations using extra dangerous facilities (npp) means for the formation of reserves dedicated for the supply of security of npp on all stages of its life cycle and development". These rules are used for the right relations since the 1-st of January of 2002 (that is to say since introduction of Common Social Tax - CST).

Mentioned rules stated that facilities using nuclear installations make deduction of means in accordance with special norms for the formation of different reserves. For the formation of reserve for decommission of npp - such norm is 1.3 % from the profit got by operating organization and npp from realization of services connected with the use of nuclear energy. In this case formation of reserve has accumulating character. Profit is calculated in accordance with the chapter 25 of Tax code of RF.

But the NPPs have been operating already for more than 30 years. The question of their decommission was put already in 1995 in the Law about he use of nuclear energy. Mentioned above resolution № 68 of the Government of Kasyanov cancelled all resolutions that determined accumulation of reserves for decommission of npp issued in the period of the work of the Government of Chernomyrdin. (We will not take into account the financing of decommission process of some blocks of Beloyarckaya and Novovoronezhskaya NPP as we considered that these processes were financed by federal budget of USSR.). So normal question is appearing. Were there formed any reserves for decommission of npp in accordance with the earlier acting resolutions?

So what was going on in the Jeltsin epoch?

By the Decree of Jetsin № 1012 from the 2 of July 1996 secure and sustainable development of nuclear energetic was adopted as a priority of Russian economy. This Decree committed to the Government of RF (Chernomyrdin) to create special fund that would began to accumulate the reserves for decommission of npp. The same Decree ordered to decrease expenses that are not included in the prime cost.

Following for this Decree the Resolution of the Russian Government № 367 from the 2-nd of April 1997 adopted "The Statement about financing of the decommission of npp…". According to this Statement npp were considered as facilities of federal property that operate on the base of full or part self financing of the process of decommission. And for them there were adopted deduction in to special fund, that were included in the prime cost of stock production. For the new facilities such statement was adopted since the moment of their start, and for acting npp as additional source of financing was named federal budget. While this all reserves dedicated to the works connected with decommission process should be accumulated on the special accounts of operating organizations. These accounts were opened in the specially authorized banks and mustn't be subjected to the removal. And concerning specific budget reserves could be removed (apparently if they were not assimilated).

By the Resolution № 390 from the 3 of April 1997 Russian Government established that in 1997 the deduction according to the special standards for the formation of target investment reserves are included in the list of expenses of the prime cost of production (works, services) produced by npp and their operation organizations. These deductions are calculated as a percent from the volume of realized production and/or services and were intended for development and security of functioning of npp. (Point 2). The period of validity of Point 2 has been prolonged for three times and is valuable now: for 1998(Resolution of the Government of RF (Chernomyrdin) from03.03.1998 N 279), for 1999 (Resolution of the Government of RF (Primakov) from 21.12.1999 N 1417) and for 2000-2005 (Resolution of the Government of RF (Putin) from 21 of December 1999 № 1417. Probably under the words "target investment reserves" they imply as well the expenses for decommission of nuclear blocks and probably there were special norms that may be can be found in some legislation of nuclear department.

May be it is reasonable to find the volume of accumulated reserves in the authorized banks worked with npp. It is bery possible that these reserves began to be accumulated, because by the Resolution № 1511 from the 1-st of December 1997 Government of Chernomyrdin allow to use these reserves for the financing of development of federal norms and rules in the field of nuclear energy.

So if these reserves were collected then they were most of all used for some purposes because The words "development of federal norms and rules" can cover rather wide spectrum of tasks. In general analyzing documents you come to the conclusion that in fact there was led a politics of transferring the solution of all questions connected with the security of npp including decommission process from federal budget to the resources of the operating organizations by means of creating target investments means.

Adopted Federal Law "About protection of environment"№ 7-FL from 10-th of January 2002 is built also on the principles of presumption of ecological danger of planned economical and other activity. Concerning decommission process this law demands that project of disposition of nuclear installations, including npp, must have decisions about their secure decommission.(Article
39).

As a result of our analyses we've got that to-day, in Putin's epoch, in the decision of the problems of the security of npp there is a point about decommission. And responsibility for the following to this point is delivered to the operating organizations themselves.

And a question of decommission of the nuclear blocks that worked out their project resource is just hanging in the air and now we haven't found any additional documents that some how determine the financial side of this process. Even if there were reserves accumulated in specially organized fund, that we've mentioned above, the further resolutions gave the permission to use these reserves for other goals. And since 2002 not so many finances can be accumulate. So we forced to think that there will be politics towards prolongation of activity of old nuclear blocks up to the time while the reserves for their decommission willn't be accumulated.

But this will take place in the case if there is no any change of legislation that so quickly cock to-day our legislators.