Monday, July 28, 2008

Alarm raised on EDF bid for British Energy

Britain has serious energy problems, this is just a sideshow.
From the Financial Times:

EDF’s planned takeover of British Energy risks creating serious competition problems in the UK electricity market, rival companies and customers have warned.

A deal that values British Energy’s equity at about £12.5bn ($24.8bn) could be announced this week. It is backed by the UK government, which controls 35 per cent of the company and wants to get the industry moving on building more nuclear power stations.

But electricity companies and industrial users have called for radical changes to protect competitors and consumers. The business and enterprise select committee makes the same call on Monday in its report on energy markets.

An EDF deal would mean “essentially handing the British nuclear industry to the French government”, says Dieter Helm, an energy expert at Oxford University....MOR

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