Electrabel (the Belgian subsidiary of French energy company Engie) and Luminus owe the Belgian State more than €83 million for the 2021 operations of Tihange 2 and 3, and Doel 3 and 4 nuclear reactors.
On Thursday, the Chamber of Representatives approved the royal decree setting the amounts owed to the Federal Government by both operators for the 2021 financial year.
This amount is equal to 38% of the reactors' profit margins for 2020, which were slightly more than €98 million.
However, degressive taxation applied on electricity that equals less than 30% of total production, means that both operators owe the Belgian State €83 million (€79 million for Electrabel and €4.5 million for Luminus).
This contribution does not concern Doel 1 and 2 due to the concluded negotiations between Engie and the Belgian State on the extension of the nuclear reactors until 2025.
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In addition, five other royal decrees were approved unanimously by the Federal Chamber, minus the abstention of the radical left-wing party PTB, who viewed the decrees as being insufficient in helping households.
Perhaps in reaction, Federal Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten (Groen) informed parliament that the taxation of energy firms' excess profits will be investigated, with a new law on the matter expected by the end of the year.
