RE: FT Today16 Oct 2021 13:40
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson was expected to give the go-ahead to the strategy documents at a cabinet “away day” in the West Country on Friday.
The creation of a “regulated asset base” (RAB) model will be key to delivering a future fleet of large atomic power stations. The RAB funding model is already used for other infrastructure projects, such as London’s Thames Tideway super sewer.
Under the scheme, households will be charged for the cost of the plant via an energy levy long before it begins generating electricity, which could take a decade or more from when the final investment decision is taken.
The mechanism is designed to encourage investment by institutional investors, such as pension funds, by guaranteeing steady returns from early on. Legislation on the nuclear RAB model will be published later this month.
However, opponents of the model argue that consumers could be hit with cost of construction overrunning. French utility EDF plans to use an RAB model to finance a new 3.2 gigawatt plant at Sizewell B in Suffolk, South East England.