Stockholm - Swedish state-owned energy group Vattenfall on Wednesday reported a record loss for 2015, blaming a tax on nuclear energy and sliding electricity prices.
The company's net loss came in at $2.3bn, compared to a $970m loss the previous year, while sales eased 1% to $19bn.
"The major challenge in 2015 continued to be the impact that today's very low electricity prices have on Vattenfall's profitability and on the valuation of our assets,"said Vattenfall chief Magnus Hall in a statement.
"Continued falling prices and a nuclear tax have put Swedish nuclear power in a critical situation," he said.
Vattenfall has had to write off over $4.2bn due to the early closure of two nuclear reactors in Sweden, which became unprofitable because of stringent safety requirements, as well as the depreciation of coal assets in Germany as a consequence of the Berlin government's target to curtail energy production with high CO2 emissions.