Cigéo: a ministerial order sets the industrial reference cost
Published on 9 April 2026, this text updates the assessment of the deep geological disposal project for radioactive waste.
A ministerial order assessing the industrial reference cost of the Cigéo project was published on 9 April 2026.
Cigéo is the industrial geological disposal centre project intended for high-level and long-lived intermediate-level radioactive waste, planned on the border between the Meuse and Haute-Marne departments.
The periodic assessment of the reference cost meets a legal obligation. It determines the amount of provisions that nuclear operators — EDF first and foremost, together with Orano and the CEA — must set aside and secure in their accounts to finance the long-term management of this waste.
This mechanism reflects a principle of responsibility: the cost of waste management must be provisioned by the producers during the operating period, and not passed on to future generations.
These provisions represent significant amounts on operators' balance sheets and are an integral part of the full cost of nuclear electricity generation.