British EDF customers are subsidizing their French counterparts.

EDF Energy's CEO, Vincent de Rivaz, has denied claims that British EDF customers are subsidizing their French counterparts. His statement came after the French government's decision to cap electricity price increases at 2% prompted comparisons with the company's recent 22% hike in UK electricity bills, and reports that EDF is using Britain's comparatively liberalized market to compensate for its now restricted French profits. Mr de Rivaz blamed the price rises on the high global prices for wholesale gas and oil, and said that the gulf in electricity bills between France and the UK is the result of Britain's dependency on fossil fuels; according to Mr de Rivaz, 75% of electricity generated in the UK is from coal- or gas-fired plants, while 80% of French electricity is generated using nuclear power.

It seems to have been a good week for EDF's rival npower renewables. The British utilities company has received the go-ahead for two power plants, both of which will use sustainable energy sources. The UK government has given npower its consent to build a large onshore wind farm at Middlemoor, Northumberland, following the conclusion of a public enquiry into the scheme. Meanwhile, the company's plans to build a hydroelectric facility at Romney Weir in Berkshire have received local approval. Councilors representing the borough of Windsor and Maidenhead voted unanimously in favor of the project after npower redesigned its original proposals. npower expects the Romney Weir project to generate around 1.4 million kWh of clean electricity each year, while the Middlemoor plant should have a total generating capacity of between 54MW and 75MW.