EDF / 2018 Reference document

6.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Balance sheet

28.1

PROVISIONS FOR SPENT NUCLEAR

28.2

PROVISION FOR WASTE REMOVAL AND CONDITIONING - PROVISION FOR LONG-TERM RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

FUEL MANAGEMENT EDF’s currently adopted strategy with regards to the fuel cycle, in agreement with the French State, is to process spent fuel and to recycle the separated plutonium in the form of MOX fuel (Mixed OXide of plutonium and uranium). The quantities processed by Orano at the request of EDF, totalling approximately 1,100 tonnes per year, are determined based on the quantity of recyclable plutonium in the reactors that are authorised to load MOX fuel. Consequently, provisions for spent fuel cover services associated with the following: removal of spent fuel from EDF's generation centres, as well as reception and ■ interim storage; processing, including conditioning and storage of recyclable matter. ■ The processing expenses included in these provisions exclusively concern spent fuel that can be recycled in existing facilities, including the portion in reactors but not yet irradiated. Expenses are measured based on forecast physical flows at the year-end, with reference to the contracts with Orano which define the terms for implementation of the framework agreement for the period 2008-2040. The most recent of these agreements, signed on 5 February 2016, covers the period 2016-2023. In 2018 the Board of Directors approved resumption of recycling of uranium from reprocessing (which was suspended in 2013 pending availability of a new industrial schema), with loading of the first fuel assemblies scheduled for 2023, subject to technical adaptations and the necessary authorisations from the Nuclear Safety Authority. The corresponding contracts were signed with the respective suppliers in the second quarter of 2018. The portion of the provision for spent fuel management relating to uranium from reprocessing will be recovered once all the industrial, regulatory and economic conditions for resumption of fuel recycling have been fulfilled, but EDF has no control over fulfilment of some of these conditions (currently, no advance timetable has been set). These provisions also cover long-term storage of spent fuel that cannot currently be recycled in existing installations: plutonium fuel (MOX) or uranium fuel derived from enriched processing, and fuel from Creys-Malville and Brennilis until fourth-generation reactors become available. Following publication of the ministerial order of 28 December 2018 amending the order of 21 March 2017 on secure financing of nuclear expenses, in 2018 the provision covering interim storage of waste from spent fuel processing has been reclassified as part of the provision for long-term radioactive waste management (this concerns an amount of €298 million).

Provisions for waste removal and conditioning The provisions for waste removal and conditioning are reported separately from 1 January 2017. They cover the following future expenses for radioactive waste resulting from operations or decommissioning (apart from spent fuel): characterisation and conditioning of waste; ■ interim storage of waste. ■ Equipment assembly for the conditioning and intermediate storage facility for radioactive waste (Installation de conditionnement et d’entreposage des déchets activés – ICEDA) was completed in December 2018 and pre-service testing is currently in process. Information on the identification of EIP equipment (equipment that is important for protection of interests) has been added to the commissioning permit application (DAMS) which has now been sent to the ASN. The objective is to open the storage facility in September 2019. Provisions for long-term radioactive waste management These provisions concern future expenses for: removal and storage of radioactive waste resulting from decommissioning of ■ nuclear installations operated by EDF; interim storage (reclassification in 2018 of €298 million from the provision for ■ spent fuel management (see note 28.1), removal and storage of radioactive waste packages resulting from spent fuel processing; direct storage, where relevant, of spent fuel that cannot be recycled in existing ■ installations: specifically plutonium fuel (MOX) or uranium fuel derived from enriched processing, and fuel from Creys-Malville and Brennilis; EDF’s share of the costs of studies, construction, operation and maintenance, ■ shutdown and surveillance of existing and future storage centres. The volumes of waste concerned by provisions include existing packages of waste and all waste to be conditioned, resulting from plant decommissioning or spent fuel processing at La Hague (comprising all fuel in reactors at 31 December, irradiated or otherwise). These volumes are regularly reviewed, in keeping with the data declared for the purposes of the national waste inventory undertaken by ANDRA.

The provisions for long-term radioactive waste management break down as follows:

31/12/2018

31/12/2017

(in millions of euros)

Very low-level and low and medium-level waste

1,278

1,161

Long-lived low-level waste

292

265

Long-lived medium and high-level waste

8,276 9,846

7,388 8,814

PROVISIONS FOR LONG-TERM RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

ery low-level and low and medium-level waste Very low-level waste mainly comes from nuclear plant decommissioning, and generally takes the form of rubble (concrete, scrap metal, insulating materials and piping). This type of waste is stored at surface level at the Morvilliers storage centre managed by ANDRA. Low and medium-level waste comes from nuclear facilities (gloves, filters, resins). This type of waste is stored at surface level at the Soulaines storage centre managed by ANDRA. The cost of removing and storing short-lived waste (very low-level and low and medium-level) is assessed on the basis of current contracts with transporters and contracts with ANDRA for operation of the existing storage centres.

Long-lived low-level waste Long-lived low-level waste belonging to EDF essentially consists of graphite waste from the ongoing decommissioning of the former UNGG (natural uranium graphite gas-cooled) reactors. As this waste has a long lifetime, but is lower-level than long-lived medium and high-level waste, specific subsurface storage requirements apply under the French Law of 28 June 2006. Following the initial geological investigations, in July 2015 ANDRA remitted a report on the proposed storage centre for long-lived low-level waste on a site located in the Soulaines region (Aube) in France. This report was submitted to the ASN for its opinion. Uncertainties remain about the site’s capacity to accommodate all of the waste included in the baseline inventory of the long-lived low-level waste storage facility. Further studies are planned under the 2016-2018 National Plan for the Management of Radioactive Materials and Waste, concerning both the

470

EDF I Reference Document 2018