France is asking British taxpayers to pay up once again to fund nuclear power stations in the UK after further delays and cost increases to the projects.
French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said he would be requesting an “equitable sharing of costs” from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt after reports surfaced that the power plants were tens of billions of pounds over budget.
Le Maire had already spoken to Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho about the request, but said he was planning to have “discussions” with Hunt to cover the increased costs.
The UK government has not budged on paying up; last month, a spokesperson said: “Any additional costs or schedule overruns are the responsibility of EDF and its partners and will in no way fall on taxpayers.”
Bruno Le Maire plans to ask Jeremy Hunt to honour his side of the deal
EDF/PA/Reuters
The plants, Somerset’s Hinkley Point C and Suffolk’s Sizewell C, are being built by French energy provider EDF, who signed a contract with the UK government in 2016.
Based on current energy consumption levels, the two plants are one day set to produce 14 per cent of the UK’s electricity supply.
But the beleaguered project has been delayed again – this time to 2031, with cost increases pushing the bill up by nearly £10billion.
Hinkley Point C’s costs have risen to an astonishing £46bn – a 150 per cent increase on the £18bn slated for the plant in 2016.LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
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Le Maire, seen with Rishi Sunak last year, has warned against energy dependence
PA
EDF have also snapped up another UK nuclear project – Sizewell C – which it promises will “support 70,000 jobs across the UK and contribute around £4 billion to the local economy”.
It’s another infrastructure embarrassment for the government – but unlike HS2, France has a stake in this, with EDF still liable for the majority of the costs.
The UK has effectively handed nuclear energy sovereignty to EDF, who already run every one of its existing nuclear power stations alongside these two new plants.
The energy giant plans to invest a further £1.3bn in the UK’s five generating nuclear power stations between 2024 and 2026, raising the total invested in the plants to almost £9bn since 2009.
But Le Maire has stressed the need for France to remain competitive in the energy sector – and said EDF should prioritise French investment.
Last year, he warned of the risks of energy dependence, and said: “The global economy is electrifying – the need for electricity will explode.
“There will be, on the one hand, the states which will be independent in matters of electricity production and, on the other, those who will not.
“The first will be the big winners in the global economy of the 21st Century. France aims to be part of this camp.”