Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 16
16
We asked why, given the amount of uncertainty surrounding the costs, and concerns about the...
Conclusion
We asked why, given the amount of uncertainty surrounding the costs, and concerns about the adequacy of the Fund to cover this, the risks of decommissioning were being entirely borne by the taxpayer. The Department said that the £100 million agreed with EDFE was a meaningful financial incentive to manage, for example, the risks of defueling. It also argued that some of the issues were due to agreements made “decades and decades ago” and that it would structure these differently in future as part of the planning for new nuclear power stations to ensure that the risk falls much more strongly with the operator.27
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The department agrees that the terms of the 2009 sale of the nuclear stations agreed by the Department with EDFE placed a disproportionate amount of risk for meeting future decommissioning costs on the taxpayer. Please see response to recommendation 3.