Hinkley Point Nuclear Plant Deal To Go Ahead

David Cameron has hailed a landmark deal to build Britain's first new nuclear plant in a generation.

Hinkley Point C in Somerset will be funded by a consortium led by French firm EDF energy, with Chinese investment, and should begin operating in 2023.

Ministers argue it will help secure Britain's future energy supplies, hasten the move to low-carbon power and lower generating costs.

But critics warn it could lead to even higher household bills because the Government has guaranteed the group an electricity price of twice the current levels.

Consumer group Which? has already said the deal should include a claw back so that consumers will receive a refund if it turns out the Government has overpaid.

Highlighting the problem of rising bills, confirmation of the project came shortly before Npower became the latest of the "Big Six" energy firms to hike its prices.

The 'strike price' gives EDF a guaranteed rate for producing electricity

The supplier's electricity and gas bills will rise by 9.3% and 11.1% respectively from December 1, in a fresh blow to struggling homeowners.

The Government has been negotiating with EDF for more than a year over two new plants.

A deal was eventually secured after an agreement to pay £92.50 per megawatt hour of electricity produced at the Somerset site - around double the current market rate.

It will be the first new nuclear power station to be built since Sizewell B, which started generating electricity in 1995.

Anti-nuclear campaigner Theo Simon

The so-called "strike price" could fall by £3 if another mooted development in Suffolk goes ahead, allowing for efficiencies in development and testing.

The contract is due to run for 35 years, with the electric price increasing annually in line with CPI inflation. At full capacity, the two reactors could provide up to 7% of the country's energy needs.

It is understood that China General Nuclear Power Group and China National Nuclear Corporation will be investing in the estimated £14bn scheme.

The project will cut the UK's carbon emissions by nine million tonnes a year, and create 25,000 construction jobs as well as 900 permanent positions once operations begin.

One of the last stumbling blocks was removed last week when Chancellor George Osborne announced Chinese firms would be allowed to invest in civil nuclear projects in the UK - even potentially taking a majority stake.

David Cameron said: "As part of our plan to help Britain succeed, after months of negotiation, today we have a deal for the first nuclear power station in a generation to be built in Britain.

"This deal means £16bn of investment coming into the country and the creation of 25,000 jobs, which is brilliant news for the South West and for the country as a whole.

"As we compete in the tough global race, this underlines the confidence there is in Britain and makes clear that we are very much open for business."

Energy Secretary Ed Davey insisted he had secured "good value" following more than a year of intense negotiations.

"We think it would be good value if (the strike price) was a little higher," the Liberal Democrat Cabinet minister said.

"I was determined to get them below £90 so I could prove to everybody we had got a good deal...

"What has driven a tougher deal is the fact that I made clear we could walk away from the table. We had other nuclear options."

The funding agreement will almost certainly mean that the new reactor at Hinkley will be a mirror image of the Taishan plant in China.

During a visit to the Taishan plant last week, Mr Osborne said: "It is an important potential part of the Government's plan for developing the next generation of nuclear power in Britain.

George Osborne visited a Chinese nuclear power plant last week

"It means the potential of more investment and jobs in Britain, and lower long-term energy costs for consumers".

But anti-nuclear activists living near the site say they have been misled by the decision process to site the plant at Hinkley.

Campaigner Theo Simon told Sky News: "We were told it would mean lower energy bills, but actually the announcement of the strike price is really the last nail in the coffin of this project.

"We were told that it would provide cheap energy; we were told it would help us to bridge the energy gap in the early 2000s, and now it seems it won't be built (until) 2025 and we will all be paying for the profits of EDF and Chinese nuclear corporations for the next 40 years."

Energy policy has shot up the agenda since the party conference season, when Labour leader Ed Miliband pledged to freeze retail prices for 20 months.

The Tories have branded this a "con" that is unworkable because of fluctuations in wholesale prices but the wave of price hikes has ensured the issue remains a major political issue.

Shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint said on Monday that the potential costs of the nuclear deal made it even more crucial that "rip offs" in the energy market were addressed.

"This agreement shows that long-term certainty is what really matters to unlock the investment we need to keep the lights on, not allowing overcharging to continue now," she said.

"David Cameron is now in the ridiculous position of saying that they can set prices 35 years ahead for the companies producing nuclear power, while insisting they can't freeze prices for 20 months for consumers while much-needed reforms are put in place."

The Government claims building a new fleet of nuclear power stations could reduce bills by more than £75-a-year in 2030.

But Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "Everyone will want to be assured that the price the Government has agreed for new nuclear power is fair.

"The Hinkley deal commits billions of pounds of bill-payers' money but it has been done without transparent, independent scrutiny.

"If it emerges that the Government has overpaid, we believe there should be a mechanism to refund consumers instead of a windfall to the suppliers."

Greenpeace was also highly critical of the deal.

UK executive director John Sauven said: "It will lock a generation of consumers into higher energy bills via a strike price that's nearly double the current price of electricity, and it will distort energy policy by displacing newer, cleaner, technologies that are dropping dramatically in price."

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