Response to the rejection of EnBW's application to transfer residual power capacity by the BMU (German Ministry for the Environment)

"According to announcements made by the Ministry for the Environment, this decision is just about to be made. We continue to believe that our application is legally acceptable, well founded and correct. We will now investigate the decision and explicitly retain the right to take further legal steps", stated EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG in its initial response.

EnBW Kernkraft GmbH (EnKK), as operator of the installations, had applied on the 21st of December 2006 to transfer 46.9 terawatt hours of residual power from GKN II's quota to GKN I. The transfer of amounts of electric current in this way is expressly provided for in the German Atomic Power Act. After the Ministry for the Environment failed to reach any decision concerning this matter over a period of months, EnKK raised a complaint in the Higher Administrative Court in Mannheim in March 2007.

Among other reasons, EnBW justified its application to transfer residual power capacity by stating that, as a result of the transfer, the operating times of the two installations would match by the year 2017. As a result a double block installation arrangement would be retained for as long as possible – over all operating phases – and consequently enable the maximum use of synergy over the long term. In addition to strengthening the Neckarwestheim site, EnBW expects to see other benefits, such as spreading the use of staff over different blocks, enabling the performance of maintenance tasks across multiple blocks, and improving the procurement of spare parts and new components.