UK to Announce Support for Sizewell C Nuclear Plant Next Week

Three people familiar with the plans say that the UK government will make a financial commitment for a new nuclear plant next week.

The Sizewell C plant on the country's east coast is in dire need of private funding.

According to one of the people, the plan will be approved by the board of directors at a meeting early next week. A person for the company wouldn't speak.

It will take more than a decade before the UK government is able to generate new sources of power generation due to the high energy bills.

The decision on whether the UK will take a 20% stake in the project will be made early next year. At the start of the year, the plant had an estimated price-tag of £20 billion.

The person said that the two companies that were hired to raise funds for the project spent the past months interested in the project. The government is expected to use a model called a regulated asset base to encourage private investors and reduce the construction risk.

If Liz Truss becomes prime minister, the project could be a sticking point.

The costs of Sizewell C are enough to affect spending and fiscal choices for an incoming government, especially in the context of wider pressures on the public finances, according to a warning from the chief secretary to the Treasury.

The current Business Secretary is very supportive of the project. The nuclear plant is a key part of the UK's plans to triple nuclear capacity by the year 2020.

Todd and Francois De Beaupuy assisted.