British Energy posts soaring profits
Nuclear power generator British Energy posted soaring profits today but said it was likely to miss a target for output because of a series of stoppages.
Soaring electricity prices meant the company’s eight nuclear-powered stations and one coal-fired plant were able to deliver operating profits of £215m (€318m) in the three months to July 2, up from £45 million a year ago.
But the company said nuclear output had been below expectations, adding that human performance improvement remained a “specific area of focus”.
Chief executive Billy Coley said: "We are not pleased by the level of small losses in the year to date and are continuing to focus on improved reliability."
Total output losses were 4.4 terrawatt hours (TWh) in the past four months, which British Energy put down to human performance issues at one plant and boiler tube leaks and reactivity constraints affecting a number of sites.
