Costs
Companies with a nuclear waste management obligation prepare for the costs by collecting funds in advance in the price of electricity and depositing them in a specific fund. This provides society with a financial guarantee for the handling of nuclear waste management under all circumstances.
The Finnish State Nuclear Waste Management Fund was established in 1988 in accordance with the Nuclear Energy Act. Separate from the state budget, the fund is controlled by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. The purpose of the fund is to collect, preserve, and safely invest the assets required for the management of nuclear waste in the future.The fund’s capital consists of annual payments by the companies with a nuclear waste management obligation as well as the fund’s revenue. The Ministry makes annual decisions on the amount of cost liability at the current price level on the basis of reports submitted by the companies with a nuclear waste management obligation. The total amount of collected funds must, at any given time, correspond to the costs of nuclear waste management activities not yet implemented.Nuclear waste management payments collected in the fund also cover any research and development costs and the costs incurred from official regulation and administrative activities.