Millions of homes and factories in Sweden could get hit by rising power costs after the nation’s oldest nuclear reactor generates its last megawatt on Thursday. Utility Vattenfall AB took the decision to shut the reactor five years ago. Since then, the energy debate has turned from discussing what to do with a massive glut of power to how to deal with a capacity shortages in many of the major cities. The closure of Ringhals-1, the fourth reactor to shut in seven years, will strain supply to the populous south.
The Ringhals-1 reactor on the west coast will leave the grid after 44 years, despite several motions from opposition lawmakers to the parliament to extend its life. There was even a proposal by an entrepreneur to buy the reactor, but it was never considered by Vattenfall.
“It was an utopia and far too late,” said Bjorn Linde, the plant’s chief executive officer. “We work in a long-term industry where you cannot just reverse the plans with a couple of weeks’ notice.”
Nordic Nuclear
Lowest number of reactors online since 1980
Source: Vattenfall AB, TVO Oyj, OKG AB, Fennovoima Oy and Fortum Oyj
The lack of transfer capacity means power prices are diverging within the country. While the north of Sweden has this year had the lowest power prices for more than two decades, rates in the south have been about 60% higher. That resulted in consumers paying more than 1.5 billion kronor ($177 million) extra in the first 10 months of the year, according to a calculation by Sweco. Hedging prices for next year are also still trading at almost twice the rate in the south.