The i newspaper is today reporting that Energy Minister Greg Hands has admitted he failed to contact EDF Energy, who operate Hinkley Point B (HPB) nuclear power station, to explore the possibility of keeping the two HPB reactors open beyond their current closure dates of 8th July and 1st August 2022.
EDF Energy sent a memo to staff on 30th May telling them that it would not delay the shutdown of HPB. Any request to extend the life of HPB was too late, according to the memo, because it would take up to six months to compile a detailed safety case that would have to be approved by the UK’s nuclear regulator and inspections of the graphite cores of the reactors.
Given that EDF’s Hunterston B’s two reactors in Scotland (which like HPB were commissioned in 1976) closed on 26th November 2021 and 7th January 2022, Stop Hinkley campaigners believe it is very unlikely that it would have been safe to extend further the lives of HPB’s two reactors.
Stop Hinkley spokesperson Roy Pumfrey asked: “Did the Government play fast and loose with the truth with another ‘dead cat’ story about extending the life of HPB just to divert people from the truth about the energy supply crisis facing the country? It was irresponsible to let the idea of extending the life of a nuclear power station have any credence when it would have compromised its safety, gone against the decision of the Regulator and shoved aside the Operator’s own preference.”
More: PressRelease27thJune2022