CONSULTING

“the projected costs are comparable to those of the Three Gorges [hydro] power station in
China, which has about seven times the planned generating capacity—albeit non-nuclear”. 750
• On 14 March 2016, RBC Capital Markets, one of the world's largest investment bank, declares
EDF “uninvestible”. Analyst Martin Young states: “EDF’s management should not risk bringing the
company to its knees, and should not proceed with Hinkley Point.” 751
• On 4 May 2016, Thomas Piquemal, EDF's former Chief Financial Officer who quit on
1 March 2016, is giving evidence to the French National Assembly. He leaves no doubt that his
decision was intrinsically linked to the HPC project, as he did not wish to “caution a decision
susceptible, in case of problems, to lead EDF to a situation close to that of AREVA”, that is
technical bankruptcy. 752
• On 9 May 2016, the four trade unions represented at the EDF's Central Works Committee
(FNME-CGT, CFE-CGC, FCE-CFDT, FO-Energie et Mines) unanimously vote to commission an
external expertise on the HPC project. 753
• On 12 May 2016, EDF Group announces that the Chairman has engaged in an information and
consultation process with the Central Works Committee. The same press statement indicates that
The equity commitment contains a contingency margin and could raise the total cost of the
project by 15 percent or £2.7 billion (US$3.9 billion). Construction time would be 115 months
(9.6 years) after FID until startup of the first reactor. 754
• On 23 May 2016, the French Minister of Economics, Emmanuel Macron, writes a letter to U.K.
“Members of Parliament” reaffirming: “I have every confidence that a final investment decision
can be made rapidly after the end of the consultation of the Central Works Committee (...)”.
• On 24 May 2016, Vincent de Rivaz, CEO of EDF Energy, told the U.K. House of Commons' Energy
and Climate Change Committee that “at the end of the consultation, the Works Council will be
invited to give its advisory opinion, after which the chairman will present HPC to the board, and
the board will make its decision. Last time I was here, I could not give a precise date for that
decision, and that remains the case (...).” De Rivaz also told the Committee that the planned
startup date 2025 “is certainly the date we would like to be able to confirm at the moment of the
FID”. A Committe Member recalled that “Mr de Rivaz originally said that we would be cooking
our turkeys with French energy in 2017”. Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom confirmed to the
Committee that the government had not given any deadline to EDF for the FID. 755
Power price increases, which should reach around 30 percent between 2012 and 2017 in order
to cover the operating costs—a legal requirement—would prevent EDF from selling at loss and
help funding necessary investments. But these tariff increases could also negatively affect EDF by
750 The Economist, “What's the (Hinkley) point?”, 27 February 2016.
751 Bloomberg, “EDF Seen as 'uninvestable' as France Weighs Financial Help”, 14 March 2016.
752 Le Monde, “EDF: le 'désespoir' de l'ex-directeur financier”, 5 May 2016.
753 CCE-EDF S.A., “Le CCE EDF SA vote une expertise sur le projet HPC”, 9 May 2016.
754 EDF, “Consultation of the EDF Central Works Council (Comité Central d'Entreprise) on the Hinkley
Point C Project”, Press Release, 12 May 2016.
755 House of Commons, Energy and Climate Change Committee, “Oral evidence; UK New Nuclear: Status
Update”, 24 May 2016.
Mycle Schneider, Antony Froggatt et al. 183 World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2016