Germany's highest constitutional court will make a decision this year on claims by Vattenfall, RWE and E.ON that the government's accelerated schedule or a nuclear power phase out violates their property rights, which has caused them billions of dollars in damages, a spokesman for the court said Tuesday.

The power companies also say they will also be on the hook for contractual obligations for electricity supply that they cannot meet due to the forced closures. In addition, they will incur higher costs for decommissioning plants as a result of the government's accelerated timetable for power plant shut-downs, which was instigated as a reaction to the nuclear power plant disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Power Station in Japan.

The court will not make a monetary award, but it will decide whether or not the government's actions were legal or not, and this will have a direct impact on future monetary awards that will be decided elsewhere.

Utility companies are also seeking compensation for the three-month shut down that was ordered immediately following the March 2011 events in Japan and for a nuclear fuel tax, Reuters reported.