UK nuclear power plant jeopardises EDF, shareholders warn

EDF's £18-billion project to build two nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in the UK is so expensive and risky that it could jeopardise the survival of the French utility giant EDF, an association of employee-shareholders told Reuters.

According to a statement by EDF Actionnariat salarié (EAS), the interests of EDF were gravely threatened by the Hinkley Point project, which it called "a financial catastrophy foretold" in which EDF had nothing to gain and everything to lose.

"EAS asks the management of EDF to stop this risky project, whose financial risks are too big for our company and which could put EDF's very survival at risk," the association said.

EDF employees own 1.72 per cent of the company's capital, making them the second-largest shareholder after the French government's 84.5 per cent share, according to ThomsonReuters data.