Dash to go nuclear 'will add £250 to energy bills'

A new generation of nuclear power stations will be in place within a decade, the Government promised yesterday.

MPs were told that the technology was "tried and tested, safe and secure".

John Hutton said nuclear power would also mean Britain would not have to rely on oil and gas supplies from unstable regimes in the Middle East and elsewhere.
The Business Secretary said he had invited energy firms to build new reactors and the first could be in place "well before" 2020.

Critics said the move would see household electricity bills rise by up to £250 a year, partly because of the cost of dealing with waste. They said plants would be built only with taxpayer subsidies.

However, EDF, a French nuclear power giant, said yesterday it would submit plans to build four reactors by 2017.

By DANIEL MARTIN and DAVID DERBYSHIRE
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