Germany's Finance Minister Mr Hans Eichel said yesterday the government expects 16.7 billion marks ($9.18 billion) to flow into the exchequer from a planned tax on reserves set aside by utilities for nuclear plant closures.

The government wants to tax nuclear power suppliers reserves, on which the companies earn interest, but have so far failed to reach agreement with utilities on energy industry reform and a schedule for winding down the plants.

But Mr Eichel said he was in no doubt major utilities could stomach a tax on their provisions. "They can afford it and that is why I am in favour of such a law," he said at a meeting of Germany's postal workers' union.

Electricity producers said in June any agreement with the government on the way the industry is taxed would have to come as part of a broad consensus on sector reforms.

Germany's nuclear providers, including utilities RWE AG, Veba, Viag and Energie BadenWuerttemberg, provide around a third of Germany's energy requirements.