UK Committee Warns of Mounting Costs at Sizewell C Nuclear Project
The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee warned that the project’s expenses could rise significantly, leaving households and businesses facing additional costs during construction and throughout the facility’s expected operating life.
According to the committee’s estimates, consumers could be required to contribute an additional £9.8 billion toward construction before 2040, followed by another £12 billion over the plant’s planned 60-year operational period.
The committee said the government’s decision to acquire a stake of almost 45% in Sizewell C had increased the financial exposure of taxpayers and energy consumers. The project is intended to expand Britain’s nuclear power capacity and follows the troubled development of Hinkley Point C in Somerset, which has experienced substantial delays.
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chair of the committee, warned that the financial risks associated with Sizewell C were unusually high, particularly given the potential returns available to private investors.
"The high level of risk borne by taxpayers and consumers for the construction of Sizewell C is extraordinary. Private investors look set for significant returns on their investments, while customers are likely to be saddled with higher energy bills," he said.
Clifton-Brown called on the government to concentrate on ensuring that the project is completed successfully, amid concerns over its projected costs and the long-term implications for energy bills.
The debate over Sizewell C comes amid wider scrutiny of the United Kingdom’s nuclear construction sector. In November, a review conducted by the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce, established under then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer, concluded that Britain had become the world’s most expensive country in which to build nuclear power plants.
The review called for extensive reforms to simplify regulatory procedures, improve efficiency and bring down the costs of developing new nuclear facilities.
The government has defended the Sizewell C agreement, arguing that its financial arrangements provide investors with incentives to keep construction costs under control and complete the project as quickly as possible.
A government spokesperson said the committee’s report "completely ignores that investors are incentivized to complete construction as cheaply and quickly as possible" under the terms of the deal.
The spokesperson also highlighted the potential economic benefits once the facility begins generating electricity, saying it could reduce costs across the wider energy system.
"Once operational, Sizewell C could save £2bn a year across the energy system, cutting costs for families up and down the country, and the project is already making good progress with over 2,000 workers on site," the spokesperson said.
The competing assessments underscore the financial uncertainty surrounding Britain’s plans to expand nuclear generation. While the government points to potential long-term savings and progress at the construction site, the parliamentary committee has raised concerns about the scale of public financial exposure and the possibility that consumers could face higher costs over the project’s lifetime.
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