We are foot-dragging in terms of building these nuclear power stations says GMB

10 November 2009

Economic framework will require guaranteed pricing which will need either consumers to pay higher prices or the taxpayers to subsidise the returns to the operators

GMB today reacted to the secretary of state's announcement regarding the sites of new nuclear power stations.

Gary Smith, GMB national secretary for the Energy Sector said "This is an important announcement and it is welcome. However, we need to face up to the fact that we are foot-dragging in terms of getting on with building these nuclear power stations. It is a fact that the economic framework to enable these power stations to be built is not yet in place. Any economic framework will require guaranteed pricing which will need either consumers to pay higher prices or the taxpayers to subsidise the returns to the operators. We need to bite the bullet on this as quickly as possible and that in return for the subsidies/higher prices, the tax payer needs an equity stake in the companies investing in the stations.

We need commitment from the companies that they will use the UK supply chain to source the components in these new stations. We also need cast iron assurances that proper apprentice training programmes will be part of the investment to ensure that the UK has the skills going forward to keep the lights on."

---

Press releases, papers and documents published on this page are the intellectual property of an organisation unrelated to ePolitix.com. We promote their parliamentary and political campaigning activities as they are subscribers to the ePolitix.com service.

As such, ePolitix.com does not edit, endorse, or attempt to balance the opinions expressed on this page. The content of press releases and other such types of content are the responsibility of the originating organisation.