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Two UK nuclear power projects in Hinkley Point and EDF in Sizewell should be negotiated as a single financial venture, the French Energy Minister urged to prevent French energy giants from taking on a significant cost overrun.
Marc Ferracci said he was on the sidelines of the London Energy Security Summit and discussed a project with British Energy Minister Ed Miliband on Thursday.
“France and EDF are very committed to providing projects, but we have to find a way to accelerate them. We have to find a way to integrate the financial plans for both projects,” Ferracci told FT.
France has been lobbying the UK government to support the EDF in the finances of Hinckley Point C in Somerset for more than a year. The French state-owned power operator has argued that it should not be left in the hook due to a cost overrun that totaled £46 billion.
EDF has experienced long delays in other projects using the same reactor technology in Finland and France — warning that the first of the two reactors at Hinkley Point C could be delayed until 2031.
The French company is developing due to its small shares in the Sizewell C project in Suffolk.
Ferracci denied that the French government would use Sizewell as “leverage” to help rescue it from financial difficulties in Hinckley.
“It’s not a discussion about leverage, it’s a discussion between friends and allies,” he said. “We need to stick to many subjects — in Ukraine, to all dimensions of our relationship. So we hope we can find it in the next few months.”
The minister hopes to greenlight the Sizewell nuclear power plant after a government spending review, which is scheduled to be completed in June. France advocates a “global solution” that reduces transactions across both projects to smoothly support the overall return of the EDF.
“Take a global approach to our relationships is a good approach,” Ferracci said. He added that “grid connections between France and the UK” could also form part of the broader negotiations.
EDF declined to comment.
Marc Ferracci said he had discussed a project with British Energy Minister Ed Miliband.
The call to handle the project together is as EDF faces a difficult prospect that in 2023, China’s investor China General Nuclear Co., Ltd. will be responsible for the additional funding needs of Hinkley Point alone, after 2023, China’s investor China General Nuclear Co., Ltd. refused to inject more capital in the project.
The CGN decision came after the UK government purchased it from Sizewell on national security concerns.
EDF’s leaving chief executive Luc Rémont said in February that the business has “a lot of interesting debate” but has yet to reach a deal that will attract other investors. Those familiar with the discussion said EDF struggles to find the right partner in attractive terms.
The French energy group is also in flux following the decision last month by the French government to replace Lemont with Bernard Fontana, head of the Framatome engineering division of EDF.
Fontana will be confirmed in his role at the company’s annual general meeting on May 4th, following hearings in the French Parliament and the Senate.
The business-savvy said that since the announcement, which includes Hinkley Point and Sizewell C, has been in “standby.”
Ferracci said he was hoping for a decision to accelerate after Fontana was confirmed in the mail.
