22nd Jul 2025 10:21
(Alliance News) - Centrica PLC on Tuesday said it will acquire a 15% equity stake in the UK's new Sizewell C nuclear plant, jointly with the UK government, Electricite de France SA, and International Public Partnerships Ltd, among other investors.
The new power station is currently under construction in Suffolk, England, targeting a generating capacity of 3.2 gigawatts, which is about 7% of the UK's entire electricity demand. It is expected to cost around GBP38 billion to build.
Windsor, England-based British Gas-owner Centrica has committed GBP1.3 billion in construction funding. International Public Partnerships has committed GBP250 million in exchange for a 3% stake, made up of GBP50 million in investments annually over the next five years.
The UK government will hold a 44.9% interest. This comes after French state-owned energy firm Electricite de France said it will take a 12.5% stake, down from its previous 16.2% share, according to PA.
Quebec, Canada-based investment firm La Caisse, formerly known as Ivanhoe Cambridge, will own 20%, while London-based investor Amber Infrastructure Ltd takes 7.6%, with the option to buy a further 2.4% from the government.
Centrica has agreed in principle to a 20-year initial offtake deal, providing route-to-market services. The firm expects an internal rate of return above 12% and predicts that its share in the regulated asset base will grow to about GBP3 billion at the commercial operations date, which is forecast for the mid-to-late 2030s.
Centrica said that Sizewell C will contribute around GBP50 million of the firm's annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation by the end of 2028. This is expected to increase to GBP150 million per annum immediately pre-operations, speeding up further once the plant goes into production.
The nuclear buy-in is part of a GBP4 billion investment scheme by Centrica. Of this amount, the firm said it has already allocated around 65%, with GBP1.7 billion going into "assets with regulated or contracted earnings" such as the Sizewell C, which it hopes will contribute to "rebuilding Centrica's infrastructure portfolio".
The firm hailed UK regulator Ofgem's protections and regulatory incentives for the project, touting the creation of 10,000 new jobs once it becomes operational. Sizewell C will comprise two European pressurised reactors, which Centrica claims have been "significantly derisked" based on previous outcomes at Hinkley C. Hinkley is a nuclear plant in Somerset, which has suffered delays and rising costs since construction began in 2017, marking the UK's first investment into nuclear power since the 1990s.
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves commented: "La Caisse, Centrica and Amber's multibillion-pound investment is a powerful endorsement of the UK as the best place to do business and as a global hub for nuclear energy."
Centrica shares were 4.3% higher at 164.30 pence on Tuesday morning in London, while International Public Partnerships stock were up 0.3% to 125.78p.
By Holly Munks, Alliance News reporter
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