Answer given by Executive Vice-President Ribera on behalf of the European Commission

19.5.2025

The statement referred to by the Honourable Member is based on the Commission’s assessment of the parameters of the formula calculating the remuneration of the beneficiary under the electricity purchase contract. The contract, in addition to providing revenue stability and limiting overcompensation, also ensures appropriate financial incentives to reduce production and plan maintenance when market prices are low and to increase production when market prices are high, within the boundaries of the technical flexibility potential of the nuclear power plant. Therefore, the Commission considers that the remuneration formula incentivises the power plant to use the available technical flexibility as efficiently as possible, reducing the distortive effect of the measure. For more details, please consult the Commission’s Decision[1].

The Commission did not conclude that limiting nuclear production in favour of renewables will lead to lower CO₂ overall emissions. The approved measure does not impose any limitation of such production. Where market conditions are such that prices are below marginal cost of production, the parameters of the formula calculating the remuneration of the beneficiary can create incentives to temporarily reduce output. For existing nuclear plants, periods of low demand and high renewable production have already resulted in operators voluntarily choosing to temporarily reduce nuclear output. This is a consequence of market operators being exposed to efficient price signals.

The Commission cannot comment on the content or the identity of parties of the discussions concerning the state aid case on state support for the construction of the Dukovany II nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic (SA.58207). In the interest of transparency and legal certainty, the Commission has made public all relevant information in the state aid decision.

• [1] SA.58207 — Support for Dukovany II, a new nuclear power plant in Czechia https://competition-cases.ec.europa.eu/cases/SA.58207 .