Belgium’s lower house, the Chamber of Representatives, has approved the text of legislation that would allow for the extended operation of the Tihange-3 and Doel-4 nuclear power plants until around 2035.

Both units were scheduled to be shut down in 2025, but in December 2023 the Belgian government signed an agreement with French utility company Engie to extend the life of two of the two units.

In March 2022 the government began talks with Electrabel, the Belgian subsidiary of Engie, to extend the operation of the two reactors.

Both units are scheduled to undergo outages for upgrades needed to comply with the regulatory requirements of long-term operation. Once those outages are complete – potentially in 2025 – they can restart and operate for a further 10 years.