What is the Hinkley Point project?
Hinkley Point C in Somerset was supposed to be the first of a new batch of nuclear power stations that the then prime minister Gordon Brown announced in 2008. The plan was to build two 1,650-megawatt nuclear reactors, with an anticipated life span of 60 years - among the biggest in the world at the site as part of the UK's energy security strategy.
The £18bn project plans to use new technology that is not yet in use anywhere else and is being built by France's EDF, with some funding from a Chinese government-controlled firm.
George( Austerity) Osborne is preparing to spend an estimated 24+billions on this new nuclear plant at Hinkley in Somerset making it the most expensive object on Earth.
One of the directors of EDF has just resigned amid concerns that Hinkley could plunge the company into a financial black hole.
Why do we need it?
New nuclear stations such as Hinkley Point would reduce the UK's reliance on imported gas, as North Sea production continues to fall. Gas and coal-fired power stations still produce about half the country's electricity. It's designed to meet 7% of the country's total energy needs.
Why is EDF hesitating?
The company has debt of more than €37bn (£28bn), its share price has more than halved in the past 12 months and the new nuclear power plants it is building in Finland and Flamanville, northwestern France are running late and are significantly over-budget. They are using the same EPR (European pressurised reactor) technology that will be installed at Hinkley Point.
The new reactors are being developed by Areva, another French company which EDF is being compelled to buy by the French government. The delivery date for the new reactors has been pushed back four times over safety concerns and is now not due until late 2018.
On paper the deal is a good one for EDF, given the "strike price" - that's the price the UK has committed to pay for electricity from Hinkley Point: £92.50 per megawatt hour. That is far higher than the current price of electricity of about £37 per megawatt hour. But nuclear power plants often cost far more than expected and can take far longer to build.
Those financial fears are thought to be behind the resignation of EDF chief financial officer Thomas Piquemal.
What difference would Hinkley Point C make to my electricity bill?
In the long run, it would be likely to push up bills given that the government has committed to paying well above the current market rate for the electricity it will generate.
However, the UK needs to build more power stations if it is to meet growing demand for electricity and the government wants to ensure consumers foot the bill no matter where the electricity comes from.
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