Nuclear station funds still rising

BRITISH Energy was not “given” its nuclear stations, as Richard Thomson claims (Letters, 16 December). It was formed from the merger in 1996 of Scottish Nuclear and Nuclear Electric, companies formed from the sale of part 
of the UK nuclear fleet in 1990. However, these new companies were not handed the 
decommissioning fund that the CEGB and SSEB had built up; that was confiscated by the Treasury.

Nevertheless, they did generate electricity “reliably” and did their best to build a fund. EDF, the present owner, is still generating “reliably” 
and putting money aside for decommissioning.

Steuart Campbell, Edinburgh