Nuclear Energy Act (NEA) (NEA)
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
Art. 77 Decommissioning Fund and Waste Disposal Fund
1 The purpose of the Decommissioning Fund is to secure the necessary financial resources for the decommissioning and dismantling of obsolete nuclear installations and for the disposal of the resulting waste material (decommissioning costs). 2 The purpose of the Waste Disposal Fund is to secure the financing of the disposal of radioactive waste and spent fuel elements after the installations have been decommissioned (disposal costs). 3 Owners of nuclear installations are obliged to pay contributions into the Decommissioning Fund and the Waste Disposal Fund. The Federal Council may exempt owners of installations with low decommissioning and disposal costs from the obligation to pay contributions into these funds.
Art. 78 Entitlements
1 The entitlement of each owner obliged to pay contributions into these funds shall be equivalent to the amount paid in, including capital earnings and after deduction of costs. Entitlements may not be sold, pledged, seized or incorporated into bankruptcy estate. 2 In the event that the entitlements on the part of a contributing owner should exceed the amount paid in by same, the surplus shall be refunded within one year after calculation of the closing statement. 3 If a nuclear installation is adopted from a bankruptcy estate, the entitlements due from the two funds shall be transferred to the new owner, who shall then be obliged to pay the contributions owed to the fund by the bankrupt company. 4 If a company is removed from the commercial register after completion of bankruptcy proceedings and with the consent of the Department, and if the installation is not taken over by another company, the contributions already paid in shall become the property of the two funds, who shall use th
Art. 79 Services performed by the funds
1 In the event that the entitlement on the part of a contributing party should not suffice to cover the costs, the party concerned shall cover the remaining costs from its own financial resources. 2 In the event that the party concerned provides evidence that its own financial resources are insufficient, the Decommissioning Fund or Disposal Fund shall cover the remaining costs from its overall resources. This shall also apply in the case cited in Article 78 paragraph 4. 3 The Disposal Fund shall cover costs incurred by the Confederation in association with disposal requirements in accordance with Article 33 paragraph 1letter b, from the contributions that the contributing party has paid into the fund. In the event that these contributions should not suffice, the fund shall cover the remaining costs from its overall resources.
Art. 80 Obligation to pay additional contributions
1 In the event that the payments by a fund in favour of a beneficiary should exceed its entitlement, the beneficiary shall repay the difference to the fund, together with interest at normal market rates. 2 If the beneficiary is unable to effect repayment within a period specified by the Federal Council, the other contributing parties and beneficiaries of the fund concerned shall cover the difference through additional payments in proportion to their contributions. 3 An obligation to pay additional contributions shall also apply: a. in the case of Article 78 paragraph 4, if the contributions that have become the property of the fund should not suffice to cover the decommissioning or disposal costs; b. in the case of Article 79 paragraph 3, if the party responsible for disposal fails to repay the difference to the fund. 4 In the event that additional payments to cover shortages of funds should be deemed unreasonable by the parties concerned, the Federal Assembly shall decide whether, and
Art. 81 Legal form and organisational structure of the two funds
1 The funds have their own legal personality, and are subject to the supervision of the Confederation. 2 The Federal Council appoints an administrative commission for each fund as executive body. The two commissions specify the contributions to be paid to their respective funds, and the benefits and services to be provided. 3 If necessary, the funds may grant advances to one another or the Confederation may grant advances to either fund or both funds; interest on these loans shall be based on normal market rates. 4 Both funds are exempt from all direct federal, cantonal and communal taxes. 5 The Federal Council shall regulate the details of the two funds; it specifies the basis for calculating the contributions, and defines the principles of their investment policy. It may also amalgamate the funds.
Art. 82 Securing the financing of other disposal activities
1 In accordance with Article 669 of the Code of Obligations, and based on the calculations of disposal costs by the Disposal Fund, owners of nuclear installations are required to establish reserves for disposal costs that arise prior to decommissioning. 2 Furthermore, owners are required to: a. submit their reserves plan to the authority designated by the Federal Council for approval; b. describe the assets in the reserves that are earmarked for covering disposal costs; c. submit an auditors’ report to the authority designated by the Federal Council concerning compliance with the reserves plan and the use of earmarked reserves. 3 The auditors shall inspect the long-term financial and investment plans and verify whether the financial resources are available that are required to cover disposal costs prior to decommissioning and whether the allocations of funds to reserves have been carried out in accordance with the reserves plan.
Para. 1 — SR 220