Poor households face having to help foot bill for building Sizewell C
Posted: 4th July 2022
Funding model also criticised for letting factories ‘off the hook’ with planning decision due this week
Sizewell B in Suffolk. EDF proposes building two nuclear reactors north of the existing nuclear power plant. Photograph: Fiona Hanson/PA
Alex Lawson Energy correspondent
Sun 3 Jul 2022 16.15 BSTThe UK government has been criticised for exposing low-income households to the cost of building the Sizewell C nuclear power plant while letting factories “off the hook” as a crucial planning decision is due this week.
If given the green light, the government hopes to use a regulated asset base (RAB) funding model to finance the project, which is being proposed by the French energy firm EDF.
RAB reduces the risk to investors, who will receive regular payments before the project begins generating power. However, it also means customers pay for the construction costs through higher energy bills.
A consultation on using the RAB model is due to close next month and shows operators in energy-intensive industries would be exempt but households receiving universal credit would have to pay.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jul/03/poor-households-face-having-to-help-foot-bill-for-b…