Hinkley Point C nuclear deal contains £22bn 'poison pill' for taxpayer
So, in summary - EDF (or someone else, since they seem to want out) build the reactor. The British electricity consumer - i.e. pretty much all of us - have been pressganged into paying three times the market rate for electricity generated for the next 35 years. if at any point in the next 45 years the plant is forced to close, we (i.e. the taxpayer) have to pay the builder compensation of 22 billion pounds.
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| Quote: “This is a dreadful agreement for the nation,” said Prof Catherine Mitchell, an energy policy expert at the University of Exeter. “The government is already paying a high price, index-linked for an incredibly long 35 years. This should be more than sufficient for a professional, business contract. “The £22bn ‘poison pill’ effectively reduces the risk to zero for EDF and its backers, which is great for them. But from an outside perspective, it smacks of desperation.” ... Former Conservative energy secretary Lord Howell has criticised the Hinkley deal as “one of the worst deals ever” for British consumers and industry and has protested against “endless government guarantees for risk-free returns to the investors”. | |
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And yet it's labour who have the reputation of being financially incompetent?