Nuclear decommissioning hits £73bn

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The National Audit Office said the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority needs to tackle "significant challenges" if a step change in decommissioning of facilities is to be achieved.

Costs are rising rapidly, even for the most imminent work which might have been expected to have stabilised by now, said the report.

The authority estimated last year that the cost of decommissioning its 19 sites over a 100-year period was £61 billion, with a further £12 billion to run operating sites to the end of their commercial life, a figure 18% higher than the 2005 estimate, said the report.

The £73 billion is 18% higher than an estimate given in 2003, although this partly reflects a more complete assessment of the range of work needed to be done, said the report.

Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, said: "The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority took on the tough job of decommissioning the UK's legacy nuclear facilities. It has put a lot of effort into determining the scale and nature of the task ahead.

"Whilst the scale of the task is now better defined, estimates of costs to the taxpayer have continued to rise. At the same time, the start and stop nature of decommissioning work at some sites lessens the value for money of the significant resources invested to date."

Edward Leigh MP, Conservative chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, commented: "The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has committed significant resources to the enormous task of decommissioning the oldest civil nuclear sites and has come a long way in planning what needs to be done.

"However, the estimated cost of decommissioning and continuing to operate some remaining old sites continues to escalate considerably. It is particularly worrying that cost estimates for work about to begin are still on the rise.

"Decommissioning relies in part on income from increasingly unreliable plants, and unforeseen expenses continually pop up. These factors combine and disrupt plans, slowing down the decommissioning process. The resulting 'start and stop' nature of work at some sites adds to the bill for the taxpayer."