Monday, 7 March 2016

EDF's Finance Director Resigned Over Nuclear Reactors

Over the company's plans to build two nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point Thomas Piquemal resigns.
The EDF's finance director Thomas Piquemal quit because he thinks the £18bn project could jeopardise the company's financial situation.

In fact, Hinkley Point will cost more than the entire market value of EDF, whose share price has plummeted over the last year.

The plant, in Somerset, would be the first nuclear power plant to be built in Britain in two decades. EDF is financing two-thirds of the project, with the rest coming from Chinese investment.

EDF said in a statement on Monday morning it was appointing Xavier Girre to take over as the group's Senior Executive Vice President for finance, with immediate effect.

After an Anlo-French summit last week, EDF, which is 85% owned by the French government, confirmed it was still working on its plans for the new reactors, and that it was making “good progress”.

The project was first announced in 2013, and has been delayed several times.

It is seen as vital for Britain's energy industry, as the UK's current reactors are due to be decommissioned in 2023, and would supply 7% of the UK's energy needs.

Last week, Labour warned that the government should have a plan B: "The future of nuclear in Britain cannot just be about Hinkley Point C,” Shadow Energy Secretary Lisa Nandy said.

"That project has been hit by one delay after another, and there still has not been a final investment decision. Given the power crunch we face, it is increasingly clear ministers need a Plan B in case it is never built."
The French energy giant has blamed its sliding profits on the investment programme. It has already spent £1bn developing the Hinkley Point site.

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