Weekend press round-up: Hinkley Point B could be spared imminent closure

As the government rushes to secure the UK's energy supplies whilst weaning the country off Russian gas, there are reports that EDF's Hinkley Point B nuclear power station could be spared from imminent closure and that ministers are in talks with South Korea to help build the series of new nuclear plants promised by the prime minister. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have released figures showing raw sewage was discharged into English bathing waters more than 25,000 times in 2021. This and more in Utility Week's latest round up of the weekend papers. 

Hinkley Point B nuclear plant could be spared imminent closure

Nuclear power advocates believe the energy secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, is open to extending the life of the Hinkley Point B plant to help wean the UK off gas imports and prevent a faster-than-expected decline in Britain’s fleet of atomic reactors.

Soaring gas prices and the war in Ukraine have already spurred the government to ask coal power plant owners to stay open longer, while ministers also revisited their staunch opposition to fracking in the light of energy supply concerns.

There is a growing feeling in the nuclear industry and its supporters that Kwarteng could also be persuaded to back an extension of up to 18 months to the life of Hinkley Point B, which is due to stop generating electricity this summer.

Such a plan, which would chime with Boris Johnson’s backing for new nuclear in the recent energy security plan, would keep 1GW of electricity generation on the National Grid in the short term, replacing the need for gas-fired generation for up to 1.5m homes.

The Conservative MP Ian Liddell-Grainger, whose Bridgwater and West Somerset constituency includes Hinkley, said he had spoken to Kwarteng about the possibility and that he was “definitely” open to it. “Kwasi is no fool,” he said.

“He understands the stresses and strains we’re going through and that we need to look at everything we can. They are fully aware of what the [Hinkley] B station is capable of. She’s old but she’s in good health.”

Hinkley’s owner, EDF Energy, would have to produce a safety case for extending the life of a power station that was hooked up to the grid in 1976 and whose closure was previously postponed by seven years in 2012.

EDF would have to prove to the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) that the ageing graphite cores of the plant’s reactors remain in good enough condition that control rods could be inserted, even in the event of a huge and unprecedented earthquake, to prevent a nuclear accident.

One nuclear industry source said there was a “six-week window” left, during which EDF could still make that case in time for the ONR to give a verdict on the safety of the plans and postpone the scheduled end to Hinkley generating electricity on 15 July.

Greg Hands, a junior minister in Kwarteng’s business and energy department (BEIS), visited Hinkley last week. Engineers there are understood to have told Hands that they expected the plant to shut as scheduled.

But the nuclear industry source said that while engineers were naturally focused on shutdown plans they had been working towards for many months, senior figures at EDF were likely to be more open to extending Hinkley’s life.

The ONR would ultimately decide on whether such a plan could go ahead but Kwarteng’s approval is crucial. This is because EDF would incur significant costs to put together a safety case for an extension and would need to be confident that ministers would not block it.

EDF declined to comment on whether it was planning to do so. BEIS said it had not held any discussions about such a proposal. “It [extending Hinkley] would stop you having to import a chunk of gas,” said the nuclear industry source.

The Guardian

Britain turns to South Korea in scramble to boost nuclear power

South Korea is in talks to build a new generation of nuclear power stations in the UK as ministers scramble to boost the country’s energy supplies.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, has met state-owned Korea Electric Power Corporation to discuss investment in the British nuclear industry and it is understood that talks with officials are ongoing.

It comes after Russia’s war on Ukraine forced an urgent re-think over energy security, with Moscow last week shutting off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria and an EU embargo on Russian oil inching closer.

Boris Johnson, the prime minister, wants up to eight new nuclear reactors to be built in the UK by 2050 to supply up to a quarter of projected electricity demand as part of a race to increase the UK’s energy independence.

France’s state-owned EDF is currently the only developer planning new nuclear projects in the UK, apart from its minority Chinese state partner whose involvement in the sector ministers are believed to be looking to block.

A Whitehall source said ministers want to work with “like-minded, democratic allies” to develop further projects. Discussions are believed to be at an early stage, with no particular plant deal yet on the table.

The UK is keen to boost trade ties with South Korea, with Mr Johnson and South Korea’s President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol pledging to “deepen digital, industrial and military cooperation” during a phone-call in March.

South Korea’s interest in the UK would mark a return to the industry after its plans to rescue a floundering nuclear plant project in Moorside, Cumbria, fell through in 2018 amid delays concluding the deal.

The country is the world’s fifth-largest nuclear power generator with 24 reactors providing electricity. This power has been credited with helping the growth of South Korea’s globally dominant microchip industry.

Its nuclear industry has suffered amid flip-flopping government policy but the newly elected president has pledged to reverse his predecessor’s plans to phase-out the technology in an effort to hit climate targets.

The Telegraph

Raw sewage ‘pumped into English bathing waters 25,000 times in 2021’

Untreated sewage was discharged into England’s coastal bathing waters for more than 160,000 hours last year, according to figures collated by the Liberal Democrats to mark the start of the summer sea-swimming season.

Data compiled by the party using Environment Agency figures on 2021 discharges shows that water companies released raw sewage 25,000 times into designated bathing waters off the English coast.

Figures collated by the campaign group Top of the Poops reveal that when also including the bathing waters in Wales, water companies released untreated sewage for 217,804 hours.

The bathing water designations – which were created by the EU – are supposed to highlight the country’s cleanest and safest waters for the public. The quality of the water is publicly identified on signs at the bathing beaches, ranging from excellent to poor.

The longest discharges into bathing waters were carried out by United Utilities, which released untreated sewage into sea-swimming spots in its area for almost 75,000 hours. The company’s worst-hit bathing water site was Morecambe South beach.

A United Utilities spokesperson told the Guardian that the area has seen billions of pounds of water company investment over the last 30 years meaning that bathing waters are now cleaner than they have ever been. “Across the region, 93% of bathing waters were classified as Good or Excellent in 2021 and all met the designated minimum standards.

“We are already committed to a programme of action for further improvements, building on this environmental achievement, and we are spending £230m over the next three years to reduce the impact of storm overflows.”

Southern Water, which was last year fined a record £90m for spilling billions of litres of raw sewage into Hampshire and Kent coastal waters, was responsible for 20,367 hours of untreated sewage discharges into designated bathing spots off the coast in their area.

South West Water discharged sewage into bathing beauty spots for 43,901 hours, with their longest discharge released at Ilfracombe’s Wildersmouth Beach, lasting 1,833 hours.

The figures were released as the official sea-swimming season opened on Sunday. This marks the start of annual monitoring of bathing-water quality, which helps to inform the public about the water at beaches they visit. The season lasts until September.

Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrats rural affairs spokesperson, said: “It is now or never to save families from swimming in sewage-infested waters this summer.

“Children should be free to enjoy Britain’s great coastlines and lakes, yet Conservative ministers are letting water companies get away with shameful sewage dumps. This is an environmental scandal.”

The data was released as many parts of the UK prepare to go to the polls on Thursday to vote in local elections.

The Liberal Democrats have called for a sewage tax on water companies’ profits to be used to clean up coastlines, rivers and lakes.

The Guardian

 Ofgem spends millions on advice as it battles soaring UK energy costs

Consultancies including KPMG, PwC and Baringa have won £14mn in work with Ofgem so far this year as the energy regulator seeks advice on how to address the effect of surging gas and electricity prices.

The £14m awarded in the first quarter outstrips the £13.54m paid over both 2020 and 2021. It will fuel concerns that the regulator is increasingly relying on expensive consultants following an extensive restructuring led by chief executive Jonathan Brearley, which saw it lose experienced staff.

The consultancy work includes £5.3m work for a three-month contract awarded this month to advise the regulator on “Project Nightingale” — which will look at whether it should change the price cap applied to energy bills as well as options to minimise the impact of rising prices on homes and business.

The work has been awarded to eight companies with Baringa winning the largest amount so far this year according to Tussell, a group which records government contracts.

Ofgem is facing a series of crucial decisions including whether to shift to quarterly price caps and how to ensure tighter checks on the financial resilience of suppliers, as well as the next round of price settlements for the monopoly providers of the gas and electricity distribution network.

It has come under growing pressure for its role in handling the energy crisis after the collapse of 29 retail companies in the past year as a result of poor capitalisation, inadequate hedging and a rise in wholesale gas prices.

Citizens Advice, the consumer lobby group, has accused Ofgem of allowing unfit and unsustainable energy companies to trade with little penalty, costing consumers £2.6bn — around £94 per customer.

The collapse of Bulb, the largest energy provider to fall, is expected to cost taxpayers a further £2.2bn. Customers of failed suppliers are also paying for energy market turbulence with billing delays, confusion and lost debt protections, CA said.

The number of full-time or equivalent Ofgem staff working on enforcement across all regulated energy companies fell by 25 per cent between 2017-18 and 2020-21, according to data gathered by CA via Freedom of Information requests.

In 2020-21, the equivalent of 51.5 people were working on compliance and monitoring, up from 49.5 in 2017-18. However 23.7 people were working on enforcement, down from 31.6 in 2018.

CA said they would have expected more staff to be working on these issues given the increase in the number of suppliers and the turmoil in energy markets.

Despite the extensive restructuring by Brearley, who joined in 2020, Ofgem said it had increased overall staff numbers from 930 in 2020 to 1,187 last year.

Ofgem said a voluntary redundancy programme and new hires were aimed at creating a more “agile and flexible workforce”.

Financial Times

Water shortages for half of the country, weather chiefs warn

Environment watchdogs have asked the public to conserve water, warning that Scotland could faces a shortage this summer. Half of the country has been told that water may be scarce after spring rains did not materialise.

Last autumn the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) predicted that the country was on course for a drought unless there was “heavier than normal” rain in winter and spring. Winter was comparatively dry while March and April have seen significantly less rainfall than the average.

In its first water scarcity report of 2022, Sepa said: “March was dry with only half of the long-term average monthly rainfall across Scotland. As a result, river flows, soil moisture and groundwater storage levels show that many areas are at risk of water scarcity.

“With continuing dry weather expected, an early warning has been placed across the southern half of the country. We advise water users, including those with private supplies, to be aware of the risk of water scarcity, and for businesses to plan ahead.”

The Met Office has recorded low spring rainfall in the west of Scotland, which is traditionally the wettest part of the country because of Atlantic weather systems. Simon Partridge, a forecaster, said that in April the region saw 77 per cent of the rain it would expect and in March, it was lower, at 51 per cent.

“These are not figures you would normally associate with the west of Scotland, one of the wettest spots in all of the UK,” he said. “This spring much of Scotland has been way behind the rainfall seen in England. It is weird and it suggests it may be just part of a growing problem.

“There is some rain in the forecast for Tuesday but it’s not a lot. There are showers on Wednesday and some more significant rain on Thursday. After that, high pressure takes charge again and things look pretty dry and settled right through next weekend.”

There appears to be no immediate concern over the public water supply, with reservoir levels at 90 per cent.

George Anderson of the TV show The Beechgrove Garden said he was seeing arid conditions in garden soil and in rivers. “I’m in Edinburgh and we saw the first rain in quite a while last Saturday, though not a lot. I know river levels are down. I was fishing on the Tweed last Friday and the water has dropped to its summer level.

The Times

Utility Week’s weekend press round-up is a curation of articles in the national newspapers relating to the energy and water sector. The views expressed are not those of Utility Week or Faversham House.