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UK may move to save British Energy

The British government admitted for the first time yesterday that it is contemplating an overhaul of the UK's wholesale electricity trading market in order to save nuclear power giant British Energy from a deepening financial crisis.

In comments that attracted immediate criticism from Ofgem, the electricity watchdog, Brian Wilson, the energy minister, said the Department of Trade and Industry was prepared to consider reforming wholesale electricity trading arrangements in the UK in a forthcoming policy paper.

British Energy, which was fully privatized six years ago, is the dominant generator of electricity in the UK from nuclear sources. But the company faces numerous financial problems.

It is losing around £4 for every megawatt hour of electricity it sells and faces having to come up with £450m next year to pay off debts and cover losses.

One reason for British Energy's problems is that the cost of generating electricity from nuclear power stations has remained high, while the price of electricity in the wholesale market has plunged by more than 30 per cent in the last two years.

Mr Wilson yesterday put some blame for the company's woes on the introduction 14 months ago of reforms aimed at opening up competition between generators, thereby cutting domestic bills.

However, a spokesman for Ofgem defended the power trading system and said generators should be allowed to go bust. This is a commercial market and, as in all markets, companies will fail — it's as simple as that,' he said.

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