2025-09-26
Important decisions on the closure of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) are being delayed, posing additional economic risks for Lithuania. The report on the implementation of the audit recommendations for the last six months shows that decisions on the safe decommissioning of the plant and additional sources of funding should have been taken by the end of 2024, but have not yet been taken. These decisions are necessary to ensure that radioactive waste is safely managed and does not pose a threat to people or the environment.
"We must already now provide the necessary resources for the proper closure of the power plant. In 2021, the National Audit Office recommended that the government coordinate actions to accumulate the necessary funds for waste disposal in a deep repository. Unfortunately, the solution to the identified problems is delayed. I hope that the future of Lithuania will be considered and that we will see at least a small step forward in the upcoming budget. The longer we delay, the greater the additional financial burden on the state will be," emphasizes Auditor General Irena Segalovičienė.
In 2021, the National Audit Office conducted an audit of Decommissioning process of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. Its findings revealed that the plant's closure work was not always carried out in line with the schedule.
To ensure the safe disposal of radioactive waste, a deep geological repository is planned to be constructed by 2067. Preliminary estimates indicate that this will require EUR 2.5 billion. To secure funding for the construction of this repository and the management of radioactive waste, funds (reserves) have been accumulated in the Reserve (Stabilization) Fund since 1 December 2020 for the construction of a deep repository for radioactive waste and the management of such waste.
In its audit of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant decommissioning process conducted in 2021, the National Audit Office emphasized that the average annual funding requirement for the deep repository until its final completion in 2078 is EUR 42.7 million. However, by the end of 2024 (as of December 2020), only EUR 68.5 million had been accumulated.
The National Audit Office recommended that the Government assess possible additional sources of funding for the required amount of money. It also recommended proposing an optimized funding model and a procedure for its review. The Seimas Committee on Audit also drew attention to this issue.
For more information on the implementation of the recommendations for the last six months, please click here.
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