The reports and other agreements of the CSN plenary are approved by simple majority members. In the event of a tie, the casting vote of the president decides. As this newspaper learned, from five advisors who are on this board, only one could vote against, so there is some optimism in the power sector that the useful life of Almaraz will be extended.
The five members of the CSN plenary are Juan Carlos Lentijo (president), Pilar Lucio (vice-president), Javier Dies, Silvia Calzón and Francisco Castejón (councillors). Sources in the sector emphasize that the latter would be the only one able to vote against the approval of the report.
“They still do not know what the councilors will vote on, it will depend on the result of the report, and Castejón will proceed in the same way as the others”, however contradict sources close to the CSN of EL ESPAÑOL-Invertia.
“It is logical that there is no major reform in the Almaraz nuclear power plant, because in 2020 it was already revised so that it operates for another 10 years, that is to say until 2030,” sources from the electricity sector point out to the newspaper.
The regulator is, in principle, a technical and independent body and its members do not formally act as representatives of any political party or ideology.
this past December 3 one has already been placed on the agenda Proposal on the Almaraz nuclear power plant technical opinion on the request for authorization modification of the criticality analysis method for new fuel warehouse and the spent fuel pool.
Just during the first plenary session in which the councilors had time to include on the agenda the ministry’s request to prepare the report on the expansion of the Almaraz nuclear power plant.
And also to approve the proposed modification to the safety study and the improved technical operating specifications.
PP, PSOE and Podemos
Lentijo He is a civil engineer with a long technical career, no known public activismbut whose appointment was favored by the current government. Pike She is a former Member of Parliament for PSOE and for years socialist spokesperson in the Branch Commission at the Congress of Deputies, therefore with Cheekydoctor, epidemiologist and economist, are the two profiles closest to the Executive.
For his part, Javier dies He is a professor of nuclear engineering and was nominated at the time by the PP in a distribution of parliamentary quotas.
Finally, there is Paco Castejon the famous doctor of physics, historic anti-nuclear activist and member of Environmentalists in actionnoted as close to the positions of LEFT.
“In principle, they only have to approve a technical report prepared by their team which indicates the improvements that the Almaraz nuclear power plant must undertake to continue operating, this is not a political decision,” continue the same sources.
A period of one year
The CSN has until September 1, 2027 to transmit its report on the extension of Almaraz to the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, and in any case the regulations require it to deliver it at least two months before the expiration of the current authorization.
This margin implies that the regulator has almost two years upon entry of the application (November 2025) to finalize its technical evaluation and approve the report in plenary.
But Almaraz must make the decision regarding buy fuelat the latest, towards March 2026. In other words, in three months.
From this date, the sector places the “point of no return” because the supply cycle requires ordering fuel approximately 18 months in advance, because the plant would have to be shut down, a situation which would make later reactivation of the plant more costly.
And if it obtains the green light from the nuclear safety authority, it would be necessary to modify a current authorization, granted by a decree of 2020 (Order TED/773/2020), which set the definitive stop in 2027 (unit I) and 2028 (unit II). So to reach 2030 it is essential change it.
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