THE new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station will start operating a year later than planned and will cost an extra £3bn because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been announced.

The energy company EDF published the findings of a review into the cost and schedule of the power station, taking into account continuing impact of Covid.

The delay means the first reactor unit is now scheduled to start operating in June 2027, a year later than planned, with costs estimated between £25bn and £26bn. EDF said this would not affect the cost to British consumers or taxpayers.

The company said a reduction in the number of workers allowed on the site because of  pandemic safety measures cost more than half a million days of critical work in 2020 and 2021, EDF said.

Stuart Crooks, the managing director of Hinkley Point C  said in a message to workers: “You will remember how we suddenly had to cut numbers on site from more than 5,000 to around 1,500.

“For many months after that, we remained far below our plan for site numbers as our ability to fully ramp up activity was thwarted by the need for measures to prevent infection. Keeping workers safe with social distancing in canteens, buses and at work meant we had no choice but to become less efficient. In civil construction alone, having fewer people than planned means we lost in excess of half a million individual days of critical work in 2020 and 2021.

“Our supply chain was also hit hard and is still impacted now. In April 2020, 180 suppliers were fully shut down, but even as late as February this year, more than 60 suppliers were operating with reduced productivity due to Covid. In total, the start date for Unit 1 has gone back 18 months since construction started in 2016. In such a complex project, it wouldn’t be credible to say we can measure exactly how much of this is due to Covid-19 impact, but it is clearly in excess of 12 months.”

He said that other factors had affected the schedule and costs. “Running the site for longer and less efficiently during the pandemic also adds cost. We are facing the same issues as other major projects with UK-wide supply and labour shortages and inflation,” he said

Local MP Ian Liddell-Grainger added that the cost increase was “regrettable but unavoidable”.

“Reducing the number of workers on site in order to maintain social distancing was always going to have consequences for the timetable and hence the cost of the project,” he said.

“The pandemic has had negative cost impacts on all kinds of construction over the last two years and when you are dealing with the largest civil engineering scheme in Europe it is inevitable that the bill for delays will be commensurately large.

“But we can be reassured that none of the increase is going to fall on the shoulders of taxpayers. And the important thing is that we press on as rapidly as possible towards the completion of a power station which is now going to play a far more significant role in meeting the nation’s energy requirements than could ever have been visualised.”

But Stop Hinkley spokesperson Roy Pumfrey said: “The Covid pandemic might be the excuse this time, but what was the excuse at Flamanville, Olkiluoto and Taishan? With nuclear, cost overruns and delays just keep happening. It beggars belief that the UK Government is preparing to do another deal with EDF which will see UK electricity consumers paying upfront for another overpriced, waste producing, nature destroying mega station. Any new nuclear power station starting now will simply exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis and be far too late to help tackle climate change.”