Centrica Considers Selling U.K. Nuclear Stake

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Centrica could be getting ready to sell its 20% stake in eight nuclear power projects in the U.K.

Iain Conn, Centrica chief executive, has told media: "If someone came along and said, 'We are really interested in it [the nuclear stake],' we would consider it." The move would continue the company's ongoing withdrawal from the power and oil and gas exploration sectors.

Centrica owns a 20% stake in EDF Energy Nuclear Generation, part of French energy giant Électricité de France SA (EPA:EDF) (Paris, France), which owns and operates the U.K.'s nuclear fleet and is behind a number of new nuclear power projects.

Conn told The Times that any potential sale could run into political resistance as the most likely buyers would be Chinese firms: "There are very few buyers of nuclear assets acceptable to the government and EDF."

In 2013, Centrica abandoned plans to build new nuclear plants in the U.K. with French partner EDF, blaming concerns over costs and project delays. The company had the option to own a 20% stake in four reactors. For additional information, see February 8, 2013, article - Centrica Abandons U.K. Nuclear Projects.

Since that time, some of those concerns have proved true in that the first major nuclear project, the 3,300-megawatt (MW) Hinkley Point C nuclear project will run at least a year late and cost an extra £1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) to construct. For additional information, see July 7, 2017, article - U.K. Nuclear Project Hits Delays, Costs Rise by $1.9 Billion.

Over the past two years, Centrica has been actively divesting its large power assets and reducing its exposure to oil and gas exploration and production, as it focuses more on energy supply to homes and businesses. In January this year, the company completed its exit from the wind energy sector with the sale of its 50% stake in the Lincs offshore windfarm, located 8 kilometres (km) off the east coast of England near Skegness, to the U.K.'s Green Investment Bank (GIB). For additional information, see January 24, 2017, article - Centrica Exits Wind Energy Sector.

This summer it sold its last large gas-fired plant to Czech energy company Energetický a Průmyslový Holding (EPH) (Prague). This summer, Industrial Info reported that it was shutting the U.K.'s largest gas storage facility at Rough off the Yorkshire coast due to "high operating pressures." For additional information, see June 26, 2017, article - Centrica Shutting Largest Gas Storage Facility in U.K..

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