After the storm came calm. Or rather silence Which imposed a lot on itself The government as well as the owners of the Al-Maraz nuclear power plant Waiting for the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) to issue its ruling on whether its useful life can be extended and maintained In operation until 2030. It’s been a month since I did thisPerdrola, Endesa and Naturgia They sent a formal request for an extension to the Ministry of Environmental Transition, several months after urging it in public letters to allow the reactors to continue operating for another two and three years, respectively. Now a low barrier has been installed on both sides, waiting for the highest authority in nuclear safety to determine whether the plant is in a position to continue. It will not be the end of the process This can last for months but also for years and will end with Political decisionfor the current government or the one for which the moment has come.
The process towards the final extension of the marz Proceed slowly and with full discretion. Slow, because the Ministry The environmental transformation took more than three weeks To send the documents submitted by their owners to the Nuclear Safety Board. After analyzing that everything was fine and that no necessary documents were missing, he did so last week. They say that those who are “waiting” are their owners, who are betting on their “disappearance” until they issue their report. The Ministry also does not intend to comment so as not to make the decision of this body conditional as well Allows the third vice president, Sarah Agson, without commenting on the future of this nuclear power plant, Nor do the rest, as he did this week in Congress, in response to a question from the popular representative Guillermo Mariscal. And all of this is at the doorstep Election campaign in ExtremaduraWhere the PP candidate government Maria Guardiola He is publicly committed to keeping it open – in fact, he announced a cut in the environmental tax, before the electricity companies dropped their demand for a tax cut to ask for an extension – and he blames the Socialist Workers’ Party of Extremaduran for not advocating in Madrid for an activity that generates a lot of jobs and activity in this community.
Extra time ball, then, Already on the second deck The process, in the Nuclear Safety Board, which is the body responsible for issuing Licenses Operating nuclear power plants, to which they are connected incident Which may lead to unscheduled stoppage of frequently occurring ones to resolve failures or anomalies of all kinds or Scheduled stopwith inspections being more or less common. If factories are inspected every year, during so-called scheduled shutdowns and other inspections. In this year 2025, Its two reactors were visited by CSN on eleven occasions. Most recently in September to check components, check radiation monitoring or conduct an “annual drill” for emergencies. The second station also resumed operation at the beginning of November after a month of stopping to refuel, a process in which it is used to inspect and maintain its components.
Reports and requests…even withdrawal?
Given its functions, a CSN is a regulator Eminently artisticalthough a few months ago it was a topic Political controversy Through appointment by Congress and through administrative silence rather than outright support for its president and its members are among the candidates proposed by the government – some of whom are very close to Moncloa, such as the former Secretary of State for Health, the epidemiologist Sylvia Calzone-And what were they? It was rejected by the People’s Party and Vox. However, the Council also has the recognition of electricity companies regarding upcoming works, on which they do not agree with the Government.
The owners do not expect the CNS to review the documentation for the extension It does not cause any shock Or lead to There is no unexpected requestBecause it already subjects the nuclear power plant to frequent controls, allowing the agency to know the condition of the facilities.
The government sees the matter differently because it is not unlikely that it would request this Additional reviews On the condition of the reactors or on Consequences of on-off practice In just one day, which is what the owners resort to for days when the price of electricity is set below the cost of production of nuclear power plants, due to the large entry of renewable energy sources. They then inform the central nervous system to stop for market reasons. This is why two of the seven reactors were inactive on the day of the power outage, in addition to the Trello reactor that was supplying fuel.
And at the last extreme – which the owners do not think about – in which CSN deems it necessary to make repairs and modifications that would lead to very expensive, Iberdrola, Endessa and Naturgia can do this too Withdrawing from the extension for reasons related to profitability and Suspending the possibility of Almaraz continuing to operate until 2030. Given this possibility, Aagesen rejected the project owners’ request Paralyze the process Which, paradoxically, runs parallel to the request for an extension, i.e. the request for an extension Closing or “licensing” Almaraz is under the only rule currently in effect in the absence of a firm decision to expand the plant, which is a ministerial decision that grants it a license to operate its reactors only until October 2027 and November 2028. Ajesen’s decision is justified in Continue the closing process just in case, Ultimately, the owners decided that it was not worth it for them to make the investments that CSN would require of them to continue operating.
The decision of this government…or the next
Depending on the demands that the central nervous system can make to keep secretions functioning, this will also be the case. The length of time the entire process takes. While among their owners They don’t begin to estimate the deadline, From the government there is talk about Immediate months or years, This depends on the modifications or repairs that nuclear technicians may request from farm owners.
Central nervous system report is bindingWhether he decides that it is not possible to allow an extension or regarding what actions the owners will eventually have to take in order for Almaraz to continue operating. But it is not in the government’s favorWhich will ultimately decide on the extension, taking into account what nuclear experts say and also a series of other factors when drafting a new ministerial order setting a new date for the plant’s operational period.
For now, Aagesen has avoided committing to an extension mandate if the Nuclear Security Council gives the go-ahead, thus buying time before it eventually blows up. The “H bomb” inside the governmentThe prospect of extending the life of the nuclear power plant is that the junior partner, He adds He rejects it outright.
In the long term, and even years, that come from government sources, the decision may not be in the hands of this and that government Move to the next executive.