Key facts
- Sizewell B nuclear power plant has been granted a 20-year life extension, enabling it to operate until 2055.
- The agreement was made between owner EDF, investor Centrica, and the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.
- Under a new contract for difference, Sizewell B will receive a guaranteed, inflation-linked price of £70.50 per megawatt-hour from April 2035 to March 2055.
- This price is lower than previous arrangements for Sizewell B and for new offshore wind farms.
- Centrica will invest over £800m in refurbishment works to ensure the reactor's safe operation for the extended period.
- Sizewell B generates approximately 3% of the UK's electricity, powering around 2.5 million homes.
The UK government has granted the Sizewell B nuclear power plant a 20-year lifetime extension, allowing it to continue generating electricity until 2055. Owner EDF and investor Centrica have agreed terms with the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero for this extension.
The agreement includes a new contract for difference (CfD) which will pay the Suffolk plant a guaranteed, inflation-linked price of £70.50 per megawatt-hour for electricity generated between April 2035 and March 2055. This price is significantly lower than the £91.20 per megawatt-hour previously agreed for new offshore wind farms and over £10 less than Sizewell B's prior contract.
Contracts for difference are designed to provide a stable price for energy producers, with the government covering the difference if the market price falls below the agreed threshold, and producers returning funds if the market price exceeds it. This mechanism is considered crucial for encouraging private sector investment in capital-intensive energy projects.
Centrica has committed to investing more than £800m in refurbishment works at Sizewell B to ensure its safe operation for the additional two decades. Sizewell B is one of the UK's few operational nuclear power stations, currently supplying about 3% of the nation's electricity and powering approximately 2.5 million homes.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves described the extension as a "real vote of confidence in hundreds of skilled workers in Suffolk," while Energy Secretary Ed Miliband emphasized that "Nuclear power is vital for our energy security, and this extension will help produce the clean power our country needs." The government is also supporting other nuclear projects like Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C.