I’ve hit out at the Westminster government’s handling of the Sizewell C nuclear project, following a damning National Audit Office (NAO) report exposing that household electricity bills will skyrocket to fund the project while taxpayers are lumbered with unprecedented financial risks.
The NAO report reveals that under the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s (DESNZ) “novel” finance structure, typical household electricity bills could rise by up to £19 a year by the time the reactor opens from 2039.
Furthermore, the spending watchdog explicitly warns that Westminster’s delivery model places significantly more risk on taxpayers and consumers than other electricity projects.
Scotland’s renewable energy potential offers the fastest, cheapest, and cleanest route to energy security, yet Scottish consumers are once again being forced to subsidise a high-risk, exorbitant nuclear project in the south of England.
This damning report exposes the sheer recklessness of Westminster’s energy policy.
While households across Scotland and the UK continue to struggle with the cost-of-living crisis, the Westminster government is locking in a future of higher energy bills to pay for a nuclear white elephant.
To force a typical household to pay up to £19 more a year for a project that won’t even open until 2039 – and whose supposed benefits won’t outweigh the costs until after 2060 – is an insult to billpayers.
Worse still, the NAO has made it clear that Westminster’s convoluted delivery model dumps disproportionate risks squarely onto the shoulders of ordinary taxpayers and consumers. Private investors are being lined up for multi-billion-pound payouts, while the public is left holding the bag if things go wrong.
We have already seen Hinkley Point C hit by a seven-year delay and double its costs; so there is absolutely no guarantee Sizewell C won’t become an even bigger financial disaster.
Scotland is an energy-rich nation with vast, affordable renewable resources and this energy insanity from Westminster is yet another reason to be independent.
Instead of pouring billions into high-risk, expensive nuclear projects that drive up bills, we need investment in green transition, and to stop gambling with public money.
