French state-owned energy company EDF has marked its sixth consecutive year of investing more funds into the UK’s energy industry than it achieved in annual profits.
EDF spent £3.6 billion on the nation’s energy sector in 2023 while earning £3.4 billion in EBITDA, reporting a £200 million difference between the two.
In data gathered by the company, EDF reportedly invested £2 in the UK for every £1 made in EBITDA over the past six years
Despite the figure coming in under the amount invested, the firm’s EBITDA still rose year-on-year (YoY), which EDF attributes to sales to medium and large businesses and strong results from the nuclear generation business.
In the residential segment, allowances in the Ofgem domestic default tariff cap also allowed suppliers, including EDF, to recoup some of the losses incurred at the height of the energy crisis.
In terms of the firm’s investment into the UK energy industry, this money was focused on new nuclear and renewables projects, encouraged by the fact that nuclear output was nearly four times the forecast when EDF acquired the fleet in 2009.
This outcome was the result of £7.5 billion of funding, which also contributed to EDF’s existing nuclear fleet’s ability to provide approximately 13% of the UK’s total power demand in 2023.
In addition to its UK-based nuclear plants, EDF completed construction and achieved the first output on its three grid-scale solar projects in 2023. The energy supplier also saw its West Benhar onshore wind project, as well as its Bustleholme and Coventry battery projects, enter their operational phases.
Simone Rossi, CEO of EDF in the UK, said: “The strong operating performance of EDF in the UK and the support of the Group enabled us to continue to invest significantly in Britain in 2023. EDF is a long-term partner to Britain, and I am proud of our role over 25 years strengthening the country’s energy security and cutting carbon emissions.”
EDF and UK’s growing partnership
Moving on from 2023, EDF has already made significant investments in the UK’s energy sector in the first two months of 2024. EDF Energy, a UK subsidiary of EDF, announced a £1.3 billion boost to maintain and expand the UK’s 2023 nuclear output.
The firm currently manages eight nuclear power stations, five of which are generating and three that are refuelling, across which 37.3TWh was generated last year.
The investment will be allocated to the five generating stations, which are located in Suffolk, Torness, Hartlepool, and two in Heysham, and aims to help sustain the current output levels for at least the next three years.
The UK government followed this by matching the £1.3 billion figure but focusing solely on Sizewell C, a 3.2GW nuclear production site located in Suffolk near Sizewell B, EDF’s operating site in the area.
Sizewell C also recently received its development consent order (DCO) from the UK government, meaning it was able to begin construction as of January 2024.
This investment marked the largest package to date for the project and nearly doubled the amount invested by the government thus far, which has included several financial injections ranging from £500 million to £700 million over the past two years.
Going forward, it seems as though many more funds will need to be allocated, as EDF Energy announced an updated completion cost for the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant currently in construction, coming in at £43 billion.
The estimated date of completion for the project has been pushed by at least three years from 2027 to 2029 at the earliest and 2031 at the latest. This also incurs additional costs of up to £10 billion, which created the £43 billion figure.
