Hinkley Point C - State Aid Consultation

Hinkley Point C State Aid Consultation

In October 2013, Government submitted the State aid notification for the Hinkley Point C investment contract to the European Commission following the announcement of the commercial agreement on key terms with EDF. The Commission made an Opening Decision on the case on 18 December 2013.

Today the Commission has begun a consultation on the Opening Decision following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), this will last for four weeks until Monday 7 April 2014 and provides an opportunity for third parties to contribute to the debate.

An investigation by the European Commission is a standard part of the State aid process for cases like Hinkley and we are confident that our case is consistent with State aid rules.

A significant amount of low carbon electricity is needed by 2030 to meet our legally binding carbon targets while maintaining security of supply and keeping consumer bills down. New Nuclear, alongside renewables and Carbon Capture and Storage equipped generation, will play an important and critical role in addressing this challenge.

In the case of Hinkley Point C, it would generate enough home-grown power for nearly six million homes, a city nearly twice the size of London, or 7% of Britain’s electricity supply by 2025. In addition it is estimated that around 25,000 jobs will be created during construction with a massive investment by EDF and its fellow investors of around £16 billion to build the plant.

You can read and respond to the European Commission’s Opening Decision here: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2014:069:0060:0098:EN:PDF

Kind regards

The Office for Nuclear Development