THE completion of Hinkley Point C nuclear power station near Bridgwater could cost even more than the new projected cost set out by EDF.

The news broke on Wednesday, January 24, following a review of the site's schedule and costs undertaken by EDF.

It was found that the initial estimated completion cost of between £25 billion and £26 billion in 2015 had now risen to between £31 billion and £34 billion - a potential increase of up to £9 billion.

However, the projected new completion cost was given by EDF in '2015 values'.

An inflation calculator revealed that in current values, the new projected completion costs translate to between £40 billion and almost £45 billion - £44,947,962,543.36 to be precise - a percentage increase of around 80%.

In a letter to staff, Hinkley Point C's Manging Director, Stuart Crooks, attributed 'rising civil construction costs' as one of the reasons for the huge increase.

"Running the project longer will cost more money and our budget has been affected by rising civil construction costs," he said.

However, Mr Crooks felt it important to note that British consumers or taxpayers will not be responsible for covering the new projected final bill.

"It is important to say that British consumers or taxpayers won't pay a penny, with the increased costs entirely met by shareholders. 

"Our commitment to bring in the extra people we need at Hinkley Point C will benefit the local community with more jobs, skills, and economic activity." 

In addition to this, EDF's re-evaluation of the project revealed the start of electricity production from the power station would not be in June 2027 as first predicted.

Work on the site is now not expected to be complete until between 2029 and 2031.

A 15 month delay in the work was caused by the Covid-19 pandemic according to a letter to staff sent by the site's Managing Director.

Excluding this delay, the project is still behind schedule by nine months, an acceptable length of time according to Mr Crooks.

"So, beyond Covid, we've lost nine months since we started. That's not perfect, but for the first nuclear power plant to be built in Britain since 1995, it's not bad," he said.