EDF wants to hike power prices 20%

POWER giant EDF wants to raise its prices by 20% over the next three years so that it can clear its debts – and it has warned the government that if the rise is refused then it will have to cut investment.

EDF, which is 80% owned by the state, has plans to invest €7.5billion this year and has just secured a public loan worth nearly €3billion.

However, it has debts of €24.5billion and chief executive Pierre Gadonneix said it would ask the government to allow it to raise tariffs to allow investment to go ahead.

He said the sums were “simple.” The company wanted to extend the life of its nuclear reactors and this would cost money.

“An EPR (European pressurized reactor) costs €4billion, whereas if we prolong the life span of our reactors from 40 years to 60 years, the cost is €400million per plant. This is therefore the most profitable investment for the French population," he said.

Mr Gadonneix added that if the increase was refused then next year EDF would have to cut its investment plans.

EDF was this week given permission by the French nuclear safety authority, ASN, to extend the life of its oldest reactors to 40 years but wants this extended to 60 years, as in the US.

It is the world’s largest operator of nuclear reactors, with 58.

Greenpeace France has backed the plan to raise the lifespan of the reactors, saying it was better to do this than start a new building programme. The extra reactor life would give renewable energy projects the chance to get up to speed and then to compete with nuclear power.