Nuclear Energy (Financing) Act 2022

Key Points

• Introduces a Regulated Asset Base (RAB) financing model to fund new nuclear plants, allowing costs to be recovered from consumer bills under regulatory oversight.
• Sought strong transparency and value-for-money safeguards, including publishing cost assessments and independent analyses, but many of these amendments were withdrawn.
• Linked financing to waste management planning (including a Geological Disposal Facility) and decommissioning costs, with proposals for consultation and conditions before funding.
• Encouraged or contemplated greater UK ownership, local authority involvement, and domestic content requirements, though most of these ideas were not carried into law in their strongest form.
• Included potential fallback options for public ownership or state involvement if a private project fails, and contemplated broader reach to future energy technologies (e.g., fusion) while keeping the current framework limited to nuclear energy.
• Aimed to shield certain groups (e.g., Universal Credit claimants) from levies where relevant, though key protections were proposed rather than enacted.

Progress

The bill completed all parliamentary stages and received Royal Assent on 31 March 2022, becoming law. While many amendments were proposed to strengthen safeguards, most were withdrawn, so the final Act reflected the government's preferred approach.

Voting

Across three key votes, the Conservative party voted in favour, while opposition parties largely voted against or split. Labour MPs were divided, with a roughly even split between Ayes and Noes in the later stages; Liberal Democrats and SNP mainly opposed. The bill ultimately passed and became law.