Agreement on AGR decommissioning provides welcome certainty for Prospect members in the sector

The government has agreed arrangements with EDF for the decommissioning of seven Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors (AGR).

Under the revised arrangements, the AGR stations will transfer to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) after EDF has ceased generating and defueled the sites, subject to regulatory approvals, with Magnox as the new Site Licence Company. The NDA will then take ownership of the stations and manage the long-term decommissioning programme.

Sue Ferns, Prospect senior deputy general secretary,  responded to the news:

“Prospect welcomes the announcement of the completion of the AGR Defueling and Decommissioning agreement between Government and EDF which supports previous agreements negotiated between EDF and the recognised trade unions.

“The agreement provides important certainty for Prospect members and other workers regarding future job security and the retention of a skilled nuclear workforce – this is essential to support Britain’s move to a low carbon and net zero emissions economy.

“This also enables meaningful discussions around a Just Transition of these key workers to future new roles as the AGR sites cease generation and move through to fuel-free verification and transfer into Magnox for decommissioning.

“The government now needs to hurry up with making an investment decision on new nuclear so we can get on with building the capacity we so urgently need.”