EnBW submits application to decommission two hard coal units at Heilbronn site

Karlsruhe. The Supervisory Board of EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG yesterday approved the proposed resolution of the EnBW Board of Management to decommission the Heilbronn 5 and 6 hard coal units at the next possible statutory date. EnBW has now notified the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) and the TransnetBW transmission system operator (TSO) of its plans to decommission the two power plant units.

In the next step, the TSO will examine the power plants' system relevance, and determine the duration of potential system relevance in coordination with the Federal Network Agency. Power plants can only be decommissioned once they are no longer system-relevant. System-relevant power plants can be included in the network reserve of the German Reserve Power Plant Directive with corresponding payment until they are shut down.

The 5 and 6 Heilbronn hard coal units were connected to the grid in the mid-1960s (1965/66) and each operate at 125 MW output. The third power plant unit at this site, Heilbronn 7, is not affected by the current decommissioning decision, although it is regularly and continuously subject to feasibility studies, as is the case with the Group's entire conventional generation portfolio. District heating supplies at the site remain secured, and its training centre is also unaffected.

In the event that Heilbronn 5 and 6 are decommissioned, or as their system-relevance expires, around 80 employees (including staff with multi-site responsibilities) will be affected, for whom appropriate socially acceptable personnel measures will be arranged.

For further information and background circumstances concerning the resolution that has been passed to decommission these units, please also refer to the press release of 28 February 2014 entitled "EnBW plans to decommission two hard coal units at Heilbronn site".