Earlier this year, the French government had asked EDF, which is 85 percent state-owned, to sell up to half of its 100 percent stake in RTE – Europe’s biggest electricity transmission network operator – in order to help finance a project to build nuclear reactors in Hinkley Point, Britain.
Advertisement
The 25,000 jobs which are expected to be created in the construction phase would be a huge boost to the sector and the United Kingdom economy.
“She should look at the evidence and see that this deal would be a monumental disaster for taxpayers and bill payers”.
“The UK needs a reliable and secure energy supply and the government believes that nuclear energy is an important part of the mix”, he stated.
“There is no free way of being able to build the infrastructure to generate the power we need if you want to ensure it is as low carbon as possible and if you want to reduce our exposure to the volatility of wholesale prices”.
In Britain, speculation grew about the project’s future after the British government announced it will take time -at least until early autumn- to consider the details of the project.
EDF’s chief executive Vincent de Rivaz was expected in Somerset alongside senior company officials to give interviews about the project.
“This is yet another strong signal that the United Kingdom government should not sign a deal just to save its blushes but take a rational decision based on evidence”.
EDF is majority-owned by the French government, which supports the Hinkley Point power plant project.
“Any further delay or backsliding would hold back the economic boost and the accompanying creation of thousands of skilled jobs that this major infrastructure project will bring”.
However, fresh criticism is expected over the Government’s promise to pay EDF £92.50 for each megawatt hour of energy it generates.
United Kingdom energy policy over the past couple of decades has been characterised by indecision, but even by recent standards the government’s plans to review the Hinkley Point C nuclear deal is eye-catching.
Gerard Magnin, one of 18 board members, said the £18 billion project was financially risky and would lead France further away from renewable energy.
“When completed, it will supply seven per cent of the UK’s electricity, vital given the closure of all the UK’s coal plants by 2025 and the closure of nuclear plants in the 2020s and 2030s”.
Advertisement
Magnin said the imminent decision about the project, together with EDF’s planned takeover of Areva’s reactor building unit and plans to extend the lifespan of its French nuclear fleet, all went in the same direction.
