EDF will miss its end-of-year deadline for a decision on building new reactors at the UK's Hinkley Point nuclear plant.
Citing unnamed sources close to the project, the Guardian reported Friday that a final decision is now likely to be delayed until at least April of 2013. The French firm is in negotiations with the British government over electricity price guarantees and is also awaiting permits that are not expected to be granted until March. Nonetheless, EDF had earlier promised to make its final decision on whether to invest in the units by the end of this year.
Plans call for two Areva EPR units at a site known as Hinkley Point C, according to the World Nuclear Association. The UK's generic design assessment for the EPR is ongoing.
The missed deadline was only the latest in a recent string of bad news for EDF. It announced earlier that the cost of its flagship EPR project at France's Flamanville plant would rise $2.6 billion to $11 billion. The next day, Italian utility Enel pulled out of that project.