E.ON's UK Arm says Ready to Explore Nuclear Power
Date: 30-Jun-05
Country: UK
Author: Stuart Penson
"We have signalled to the UK government that we are prepared to talk to them, explore possibilites as they reach conclusions in this area," said Paul Golby, chief executive of E.ON UK, Britain's number two gas and power supplier.
Golby said E.ON UK was a long way from making investment decisions on nuclear, but he detected a shift in public opinion.
"I happen to believe the mood is changing and will continue to change, but this will have to be driven by the government to make a step change," he told analysts in London.
Most of Britain's ageing reactors are due to start closing from 2010. Opposition to building new plants has softened as the government faces the need to secure future energy supplies while also tackling climate change by cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Nuclear plants produce hardly any carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas.
"It may be not surprising that the nuclear debate has reawakened in the UK and is being treated both seriously and urgently by the UK government," said Golby.
E.ON UK has no nuclear plants but its German parent operates reactors in Germany.
Golby said investment in new reactors would require the government to act on issues such as rules for licensing plants, and nuclear waste.
On decommissioning of future reactors, he said the UK had a suitable framework in place. "There's a model and there's no reason why that can't be used as a basis for future decommissioning," said Golby.
Golby said he thought it would be very difficult for a stand-alone nuclear operator to survive in the UK's wholesale energy market. New plants would need to be able to hedge their exposure to the power market against a customer base.
British Energy, which operates most of the UK's reactors, had to be rescued by the government after collapsing power prices left it close to bankruptcy. BE had no retail arm to hedge its exposure to the wholesale market.