Barsebäck: agreement reached

11/30/1999 7:20 AM EST

The Government, Sydkraft and Vattenfall negotiating teams have now agreed on a
solution for the Barsebäck nuclear power plant. The main points of the
agreement are that Sydkraft will shut down Barsebäck 1 today, November 30, and
will simultaneously receive equivalent power supplied by Vattenfall.

Barsebäck Kraft AB and Ringhals AB will be merged into a single corporate
Group in which Vattenfall will own 74.2% and Sydkraft 25.8%.

Vattenfall will receive compensation on market terms for the 25.8% proportion
of Ringhals which is to be transferred to Sydkraft. Vattenfall's total
compensation following shutdown will amount to approximately SEK 5.7 billion.
The Government will compensate Vattenfall by making a cash payment of SEK 2.65
billion spread over four years. Vattenfall will also receive 74.2% of the
electricity production at Barsebäck 2. In addition, Sydkraft will pay SEK 113
M annually to Vattenfall, since production costs at Barsebäck are higher than
at Ringhals (1.4 öre/kWh). This payment is index-linked.

The Government will compensate the joint company for the additional costs
incurred for "single operation" of the Barsebäck 2 plant, and decommissioning
and service costs for Barsebäck 1. This compensation is to be paid annually to
the new Group in the form of an initial sum of SEK 400 M, which will be
gradually reduced to approximately SEK 240 M in the final year. The cumulative
payments will amount to approximately SEK 3.3 billion.

The Government's costs for shutting down Barsebäck will amount to a total of
SEK 5.9 billion. The agreement also covers the terms to be applied if
Barsebäck 2 is shut down as the result of a political decision. In this case,
Sydkraft's participation in Ringhals will increase to 30% and Vattenfall will
receive additional financial compensation from the Government, under the
agreements that have now been reached.

"We are receiving compensation in the form of the corresponding production of
electricity, at the same cost and with the same environmental impact. This
gives us full compensation," Sydkraft's CEO, Lars Frithiof, comments.

"In commercial terms, this agreement meets the conditions that Vattenfall has
stipulated, both in terms of the level of compensation and the form the
agreement takes," says Vattenfall's chief negotiator, Staffan Nordin.

The Government's negotiator, Kaj Janérus, is pleased that agreement has been
reached prior to a shutdown of Barsebäck 1. According to Mr. Janérus, it
should be apparent that this has been a highly complex settlement.

The overall settlement consists of a number of separate agreements and, before
it enters into force, it must be approved by Parliament in the spring.
Sydkraft has convened a Special General Meeting on December 22 to vote on the
agreement. Vattenfall's Board has already approved the agreement.

The merger of Ringhals AB and Barsebäck Kraft AB will not take place until
final approval has been received from the Government.

Ringhals AB's President is Anders Hjorth. The President of Barsebäck Kraft AB,
which is to become a subsidiary of Ringhals AB, is Per Lindell.

Sydkraft will continue to be the formal owner of the Barsebäck reactors. This
means that Sydkraft will be responsible for decommissioning the reactors at
the Barsebäck plant. Entitlement to the electricity production will be
transferred to Barsebäck Kraft AB. Vattenfall will be responsible for
decommissioning the Ringhals reactors, when required.

Please contact the following for further information:

Kaj Janérus, Government negotiator, tel. +46-70-817 0530
Lars Frithiof, Sydkraft's CEO, tel. +46-40-25 51 00, +46-70-581 1077
Carl-Erik Nyquist, Vattenfall's CEO, tel. +46-8-739 50 02
Staffan Nordin, Vattenfall's chief negotiator, tel. +46-70-539 5023


Distributed by:

The Government, Sydkraft AB and Vattenfall AB