Hinkley Point C: the government should start planning alternatives | Nils Pratley

EDF has admitted the nuclear project is 1.5bn over budget - we shouldn't be bullied into paying more

Hinkley Point C in Somerset will cost 1.5bn more than planned, says developer EDF, and completion could be delayed by 15 months beyond the 2025 target date. In one sense, this news lacks any element of surprise. EDF only seems to build nuclear reactors that are late and over-budget, as witnessed in Finland and on its own patch at Flamanville in Normandy.

Yet the timing of EDF's "clarifications" is a shock. It is very early in the life of this 18.1bn (now 19.6bn, possibly rising to 20.3bn) project to be recasting the numbers. The tricky stages of construction, like pouring the right mix of concrete, lie ahead. The additional costs relate to mundane matters, such as "a better understanding" of UK regulators' requirements and "the volume and sequencing of work on site".