Spanish nuclear companies plan to unleash their artillery on Brussels in the countdown to the blackout: "The logical thing to do is to speak with one voice."

Movement on the Spanish nuclear scene. Brussels launched a consultation a few days ago to determine how much and how much investment should be made in the European nuclear industry to close supply gaps and avoid an imminent labor crisis. The key is not the consultation itself, but the problems it identifies, which confirm that the European Commission is gathering arguments to support a nuclear resurgence that will require significant public funding and flexibility within the framework of state aid overseen by Commissioner Teresa Ribera . Aware that the consultation will increase pressure on Moncloa to review the Spanish blackout, the country's nuclear companies are already considering their contribution.

Iberdrola, Endesa, Naturgy, and EDP, the owners of the nuclear park, have two weeks to submit their investment needs to Brussels. For the moment, their teams are analyzing the terms of the consultation. " The most logical thing is for it to be answered with a single voice ," says an industry source, who suggests that if the closure schedule is maintained in Spain, "there wouldn't be much to say in terms of personnel and investments, two aspects that will be key if the extension goes ahead."

The most logical outcome is that this single voice will be that of Foro Nuclear, the sector's employers' association, which points out that it has not yet sent anything to Brussels, although it points out that the consultation period does not end until May 12. "There will surely be a response from Spain," supports another source close to the sector. The timing of the Brussels nuclear referendum is putting pressure on the schedule for a possible common front. Until May 20, the owners of the Almaraz plant do not plan to agree on the joint proposal that will officially revise the schedule to the government. Among the options is proposing a mini-extension until 2030, as this media outlet reported . The Extremadura reactor is first on the list for blackout. It will begin cooling down in 2027, but will reach a point of no return this June.

The sector understands that targeting Brussels only makes sense if there are options to extend the lifespan of Spanish power plants. "Otherwise, Spain will be on a completely different page than the rest of Europe." The phased closure agreement signed in 2019 stemmed from an anti-nuclear ideological commitment shared by Pedro Sánchez himself and the then Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera. It also stemmed from the lack of interest on the part of the electricity sector in maintaining a business that is increasingly less attractive to its bottom line.

Now, the thread hanging over the agreement between the government and the electricity companies is economic. The companies are fighting for a tax cut on nuclear energy that would make the reactors profitable again. The government is fighting to avoid additional costs to the public coffers and the Spanish public's bills. Meanwhile, more and more technical voices are supporting the same view: the stability of the national electricity system cannot do without nuclear power. The outcome of the Brussels referendum could cast a shadow over the electricity companies .

Now, the thread hanging over the agreement between the government and the electricity companies is economic. The companies are fighting for a tax cut on nuclear energy that would make the reactors profitable again. The government is fighting to avoid additional costs to the public coffers and the Spanish public's bills. And in the middle, more and more voices are supporting the same view: the stability of the national electricity system cannot do without nuclear power. The outcome of the Brussels referendum could cast a shadow over the electricity companies.

180-degree turn in Brussels

"The initiative aims to provide a comprehensive and evidence-based assessment of the lifecycle investment needs of the EU nuclear sector," the Commission recalls. With the result, it will update its Nuclear Indicative Programme (NIPP) for the first time in eight years. The previous version was launched in 2017 and was the first after the Fukushima accident, so it was heavily focused on strengthening reactor safety. The current consultation is a complete U-turn , focusing the new investment needs on competitiveness, affordability, and security of supply in Europe.

While the new PINC that the European Commission is preparing to identify investment needs in the sector falls to Dan Jørgensen , the Danish Energy Commissioner, these investments in nuclear generation that receive state support must be filtered by Teresa Ribera. As the Commission's top official on competition matters, the Socialist is responsible for assessing whether Member States' support for companies in any field complies with European law. The most recent example is Belgium, whose plan to expand its nuclear power plants will represent a €32 billion blow to public coffers. Ribera authorized it last February.