2010 Oversight Report – ENSI-AN-7500

Since the catastrophic events at the Fukushima plant in Japan on 11 March 2011, there has been a fundamental shift in the way the public regards nuclear facilities in Switzerland.

Just one month before Fukushima, the electorate in the canton of Bern had voted in favour of a replacement nuclear power plant at Mühleberg on the same site as the current plant. Three days after Fukushima, the Swiss Federal Council suspended all applications for general licenses for the construction of new nuclear power plants. Two months later, Switzerland embarked on a political process that will see the phasing out of nuclear power for the purpose of electricity generation. This means a change to some of ENSI’s responsibilities as its previous assessment of new build projects is no longer relevant.

However, surveillance of the nuclear power plants currently in operation remains a key task.