Two of Britain’s ageing nuclear power plants will stay open for two years longer than expected to reduce the risk of an electricity supply crunch.
EDF, the French state-owned energy group that operates Britain’s five remaining nuclear power plants, said Heysham 1 in Lancashire and its Hartlepool plant in Teesside were likely to remain in service until March 2026, instead of closing next year.
Britain generated about a fifth of its electricity from nuclear plants as recently as 2018, but that share has declined to about 15 per cent as ageing plants have suffered safety shutdowns and closed. Meanwhile, the construction of new plants, such as EDF’s Hinkley Point C project in Somerset, has been delayed.
The closures of Heysham 1 and Hartlepool,
