French utility Electricite de France, EDF, has again pushed back the date for making a decision on the 3,200 MW Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant project. The decision at this point will not be made earlier than September, according to French media reports.
Last month, EDF Chief Executive Officer Jean-Bernard Levy said he was certain that “in the near future, all conditions will come together for it (Hinkley Point C) to definitely be launched.”
It was widely reported that the financial decision for the project would be announced in early May. French newspaper Journal du Dimanche, however, has quoted Economy Minster Emmanuel Macron as saying that EDF has decided to wait until September to make that decision.
In addition, EDF has announced that it is seeking to divest itself of about $11.5 billion of assets to reduce its own debt load.
The project that is expected to supply electricity for more than 6 million homes – about 7 percent of Britain's electricity generation – remains in limbo even though its original completion date has come and gone.
In March, while Levy was sounding confident at the chances for Hinkley Point C to be launched, RBC Capital Markets warned that the decision to go ahead with the $25.8 billion project would make EDF “uninvestible.” This was soon after the company's chief financial officer Thomas Piquemal resigned under protest after recommending that EDF wait another three years to make the decision on the new power plant, which would be the first nuclear plant build in Britain in 20 years.