Germany's two biggest utilities have sued the German government, arguing that a tax on nuclear fuel rods is illegal now that nuclear energy is destined for an early phaseout, dpa quoted executives as saying Wednesday. Berlin has budgeted revenue of 1.3 billion euros (1.9 billion dollars) annually from the tax, which was introduced last year. Utilities allege they accepted it as part of a political deal last autumn to extend the lives of nuclear power plants, a deal from which Berlin has now backed away. In an about-face, Chancellor Merkel's government decided after the Fukushima radioactive releases in March in Japan that nuclear power was unsafe. Under a planned bill, all the power plants must close by 2022. Essen-based RWE filed suit in a Munich court after its next instalment of tax fell due with the replacement of fuel rods at its Gundremming nuclear plant in Bavaria state. A tax is payable according to the energy yield of each rod of uranium, the source of the nuclear fission that creates heat to drive the plants' steam turbines. The minority owner of the plant, energy major Eon with 25 per cent, assented to the suit, RWE executives said. RWE is expected to launch a financial reorganization because of the partial loss of its investment in its nuclear plants, which must be powered down and demolished long before their useful lives end. If confirmed it was offering for sale 75 per cent of its power distribution subsidiary Amprion, but declined to comment on news reports that a buyer was in waiting and that the sale was likely to raise nearly 1 billion euros in cash. Amprion operates 11,000 kilometres of high-voltage lines.
