In late 2012 Ofgem in their first annual Electricity Capability Assessment, warned that Britain is running out of energy generating capacity, as the spare capacity would fall from 14% then, to 4% by the winter of 2015-16.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19842401
But in actual fact the crisis was worse than Ofgem feared, as we could have had power outages during the CURRENT winter, as the energy giant SSE warned, but the national grid denied – but whatever, it is getting too close for comfort..
www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/10428950/Power-crisis-risk-worse-than-feared-this-winter-SSE-warns.html
So why in a bad winter within a few years, could the UK be like some third-world emerging economy, where power outages may have to be managed/rotated throughout Britain?
Firstly it will not be because ‘the market isn’t’ working’, it is as Ofgem states, a capacity problem and that we needed to secure £150 billion to replace aging/closing reactors and infrastructure - unlike France whose nuclear power generation had FALLEN to 75% of their energy generation - allowing much CHEAPER electricity to their population, than here.
The problem is with nuclear reactors is there is no quick fix as it takes around 10-years of planning and building, to generate the first megawatt to replace lost supplies and alleviate potential power outages, so by that measure alone, firm decisions should have been made in the early 2000’s and the ground broken.
So what expertise did the UK have in building our own new energy generating capacity? We had a company called Westinghouse, but we decided to sell it in a multi company bidding war to Toshiba of Japan in early 2006, at a price of £3.1 billion, and how pleased the government were – despite Tony Blair saying in 2005 “nuclear power is back on the agenda with a vengeance”.
news.sky.com/story/405200/bnfl-sells-westinghouse-to-toshiba
Next, how come via the bidding process and cunning plan to get the Private Sector to fund our (Ofgem calculated £150 billion) nuclear reactor/infrastructure building programme, were we left relying on the French State, via EDF the French government owned nuclear energy company, to fulfil our national energy needs, clean up our nuclear waste and stop the UK’s lights going out – in a huge Private Finance Initiative type funding, that has saddled our schools and hospitals with annual debt service bills for decades to come – and selling off of to EDF British Energy for £12.5 billion?
www.nnl.co.uk/news-media-centre/news-archive/industry-news-edf-to-buy-british-energy.aspx
Interestingly, did Blair and Brown think that they had an important ally within EDF, as Gordon Brown’s brother Andrew Brown had become a Director of Media (later Corporate Communications) within EDF in 2004, despite admitting he didn’t know too much about energy before he got there?
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5293459/Who-is-Andrew-Brown-Profile-of-Gordon-Browns-brother-MPs-expenses.html
Well in a government White Paper in 2008, Mr Brown said that “it will be for energy companies to fund, develop and build new nuclear power stations in the UK, including meeting the full costs of decommissioning and their full share of waste management costs”. And Mr Riaz of EDF confirmed that all costs WOULD be borne by EDF.
Did anyone within the government ask back then WHY & HOW the private sector would be able to take all the costs of building nuclear reactors – when the financial crash had restricted most companies from accessing cheap finance?????
Well we are now in late 2009, with Labour and Mr Miliband, responsible for energy, realising the light were likely to off in several years, was starting to panic, AS EDF WERE SAYING THAT NO NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS WOULD BE BUILT IN THE UK WITHOUT GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL SUPPORT.
So when Labour left ‘power’ in mid 2010, this was their legacy; “the money had all gone”, our own nuclear expertise sold off already (but Westinghouse now of Japan will be subcontracted by EDF to build nuclear rectors here) - so the French State (EDF), energetically now had us by the goolies – as their was no PFI type contracted price for electricity generated at the beginning, for a NEW GENERATION NUCLEAR REACTOR that is YET to be built and tested, for maybe a year or so.
www.theguardian.com/business/2011/jul/20/edf-french-nuclear-reactor-delays
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40 replies
Isitmebut · 30/01/2014 19:17
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