Plan for connecting new Hinkley Point power station to the grid could save consumers over £100m

23 Jan 2018 01:57 PM

Ofgem’s plan to use the benefits of competition to fund connection of the new Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor to the grid could save consumers over £100 million.*

Ofgem has today confirmed that the grid upgrade, currently estimated to cost around £800m to build, is needed. Like other network costs, these costs will be passed onto consumers through their energy bills. The costs would be recovered from customers over 25 years after the upgrade is complete. 

The regulator is minded to use a ‘competition proxy’ approach for delivering the link to reduce the bill for consumers. 

Under this approach, National Grid will build the infrastructure but Ofgem will set the company’s revenue for building and operating it on the assumption that all the work had been put out to tender. 

Ofgem will set the revenue that National Grid is allowed to earn based in part on the regulator’s experience in tendering the ownership of transmission links to offshore wind farms. Successive tender rounds have cut the cost to consumers of connecting offshore wind by at least £700m since 2009. 

Ofgem is considering setting a weighted average cost of capital for National Grid to operate the upgraded infrastructure for Hinkley Point over a 25-year period of between 0.60% and 1.75%.

Ofgem will make a final decision on whether to use the ‘competition proxy’ approach for delivering the upgrade and the methodology for determining the allowed rate of return in spring 2018.   

Notes to editors

  1. The 0.60% to 1.75% range is in line with lower rates of return recently bid by investors to operate links to windfarms under Ofgem’s Offshore Transmission Operator competitive tendering regime. The cost of capital Ofgem is proposing to allow National Grid for the construction of the upgrade for Hinkley Point is between 1.12% and 2.70%. All figures are for a weighted average cost of capital that takes into account changes due to inflation (using RPI). 
    *The saving of more than £100 million would result from Ofgem setting a lower rate of return compared with what would have been allowed to National Grid to build the link under their existing price control agreement.  
  2. Ofgem has started the review process for the next energy network price controls from 2021. Early evidence points towards cost of capital and returns being lower than in the current price controls. For more information, see: Energy networks should prepare for tougher price controls.  
  3. Today’s consultation on how the upgrade will be delivered and the final needs case for it are here: 
    Hinkley - Seabank: Decision on the Needs Case
    Hinkley - Seabank: Minded-to consultation on delivery model
    Alongside this Ofgem has also published: Update on competition in onshore electricity transmission.

For media, contact:

For investors, contact:

About Ofgem

Ofgem is the independent energy regulator for Great Britain. Its priority is to make a positive difference for consumers by promoting competition in the energy markets and regulating networks.

For facts, figures and information about Ofgem’s work, see Energy facts and figures or visit the Ofgem Data Portal. 

For energy insights and updates straight to your inbox from Ofgem, please subscribe.

Follow us on Twitter @ofgem, LinkedIn and Facebook.