UK energy bill payers will hand 2bn a year to EDF for new power stations

"UK energy bill payers will hand over 2bn a year in subsidies to EDF, the French company building two nuclear power stations, according to government figures. EDF, owned by the French government, will be entitled to 1bn in annual payments as soon as Hinkley Point C, in Somerset, comes on to the grid in 2030. The sum is due under the contracts-for-difference system that guarantees low-carbon energy companies a fixed price for the electricity they generate."

"Separately, 1bn will be added to bills through a separate nuclear levy scheme to fund Sizewell C, in Suffolk, a 3.2 gigawatt (GW) project also led by EDF. The result is an increase of about 2bn in bills, funding the cost of two plants that together will generate about a sixth of the electricity that Britain was using during peak demand so far this year, equivalent to 6m homes."

UK energy bill payers will fund roughly £2bn a year in subsidies to EDF for two new nuclear plants. EDF will receive £1bn annually under a contracts-for-difference arrangement when Hinkley Point C enters the grid around 2030, and a separate £1bn will be raised via a nuclear levy to support Sizewell C, a 3.2GW project. Combined output from the two plants would supply about one sixth of recent peak electricity demand, around 6 million homes. The government anticipates stable nuclear baseload could reduce balancing costs from variable renewables and limit bill volatility during construction.

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