Universal Registration Document 2021

Accounting principles and methods

The Group recognises provisions when it has a present obligation (legal or constructive) arising from a past event, an outflow of resources will probably be required to settle the obligation, and the obligation amount can be estimated reliably.

If it is anticipated that all or part of the expenses covered by a provision will be reimbursed, the reimbursement is recognised under receivables if and only if the Group is virtually certain of receiving it.

Provisions are determined based on the Group’s expectation of the cost necessary to settle the obligation. Estimates are based on management data from the information system, assumptions adopted by the Group, and if necessary, experience of similar transactions or operations, based on independent expert reports, or contractor quotes. The various assumptions are reviewed for each closing of the accounts.

In the case of decommissioning provisions for power plants in operation, adjustments are recorded via fixed assets.

The discount effect generated at each closing to reflect the passage of time is recorded under “Discount effect” in financial expenses.

Changes in provisions resulting from a change in discount rates, a change in the disbursement schedule or a change in contractor quote are recorded:

• as an increase or decrease in the corresponding assets, up to the net book value, if the provision was initially covered by balance sheet assets;
• in the income statement in all other

Provisions related to nuclear generation mainly cover the following:

• back-end nuclear cycle expenses: provisions for spent fuel management, for waste removal and conditioning and long-term radioactive waste management are established in accordance with the obligations and final contributions specific to each country;
• costs for decommissioning power plants;
• costs relating to fuel in the reactor when the reactor is shut down (provisions for last cores). These correspond to the cost of the fuel stock in the reactor that is not totally spent at the time of the final reactor shutdown and cannot be reused due to technical and regulatory constraints, the cost of processing for that fuel, and the cost of removal and storage of the resulting waste.

Obligations can vary noticeably depending on each country’s legislation and regulations, and the technologies and industrial scenarios involved.

The breakdown between current and non-current provisions related to nuclear generation is as follows:

The breakdown of provisions by company is shown below: