26 Apr (NucNet): Three labour unions representing EDF employees said in a joint statement yesterday that they welcomed a possible delay of the final investment decision on EDF’s proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant project in the UK and recommended pushing back an investment decision beyond 2016.
CGT, FO and CFO-CGC said the delay, which has not been officially confirmed by EDF, should be used to integrate feedback from future operational EPRs and to ensure good Franco-British cooperation on an optimised version of the EPR.
The unions said the project to build two 1,600-MW EPR units at Hinkley Point, in southwest England, had been the subject of “intense debate” at EDF and plans to delay the decision were “a victory for employees”.
According to media reports in France yesterday, EDF will not be taking a final investment decision on Hinkley Point C by May, as previously expected.
French Daily newspaper Les Echos said EDF chief executive officer Jean-Bernard Levy had decided to consult and inform the company’s employees before an investment decision is made. However, France’s economy minister said last week France will go ahead with construction of Hinkley Point C and will begin agreeing technical details “in the coming weeks”.
Emmanuel Macron told the BBC: “We back the Hinkley Point project, it’s very important for France, it’s very important for the nuclear sector and [France’s state-owned utility company] EDF. The French government, which owns 84.9 percent of EDF, has expressed support for the Hinkley Point C project.
Vincent de Rivaz, chief executive officer of EDF’s UK affiliate EDF Energy, told a conference in London earlier this month that key components of the UK’s electricity market reform package need to be improved because of the “challenging” context of very low and falling electricity prices for generator
He did not say if the improvements to the electricity market reform package are essential for a final investment decision Hinkley Point C.
Mr de Rivaz said he had categorically told a parliamentary committee last month that the project “will go ahead and will go ahead very soon”.
Angus Brendan MacNeil, the chairman of the UK parliament’s Energy and Climate Change Committee, has said it was “very disappointing” that EDF Energy chief executive officer Vincent de Rivaz had failed to commit to a firm timeline for a final investment decision on the Hinkley Point C nuclear project in a recent testimony to the committee.
