Electricity costs for British consumers set to treble after Hinckley Point deal gets the go ahead
Electricity costs for British consumers will be three times as high as they are currently as a result of the governments Hinckley Point deal, according to free platform for managing household bills, Onedox.
The government deal ensures that the Hinckley Point consortium, primarily funded by energy firm EDF and the Chinese Government, will receive a minimum of £92.50 per megawatt hour of electricity produced, for a period of 35 years.
Co-founder of Onedox, David Sheridan said: “This £92.50 figure was agreed in 2013, and will be increasing with inflation throughout the term of the agreement.
“When you look at the current wholesale price of electricity, which is £40.00, you can see that the government is effectively gambling on other forms of energy prices increasing significantly in future, otherwise this is a terrible deal for UK consumers.”
If the wholesale price of electricity is lower than the set price, currently around £92.50, then consumers will make up the difference.
Mr Sheridan added: “According to reports, the National Audit Office says that the top up payment by consumers has increased from just over £6bn to almost £30bn- that’s almost five times the initial hit.”
The approval for the Hinckley Point nuclear power station comes after delays following the election of Theresa May in July after David Cameron’s resignation.
The new Prime Minister’s concerns mainly relate to security, but these hesitations seem to have been addressed with new conditions imposed on builders EDF.
However, Mr Sheridan believes the UK government is missing a trick with energy production.
He said: “The merits of renewable energy sources are being largely ignored, despite experts suggesting costs are falling.
“Additionally, the generation of power through renewable sources is becoming much more reliable.
“Indeed, recently Bloomberg New Energy Finance claimed that ‘wind is now the cheapest technology in the UK’, so we should be exploring all the options.”
The cost of the facility is likely to be around £18bn, with one third coming from the Chinese and the rest coming from French energy provider EDF.
It will also mean that the Chinese take a stake in a new project at Sizewell, along with a possible building of their own at Bradwell in Essex.
Notes to Editor:
• For Media comment and interviews contact David Sheridan on 07540 572 123 or email david@onedox.com
• For more information about Onedox visit www.onedox.com