In a letter to the National Audit Office, EAC chair Joan Walley said that the “process and outcome” of the deal, as well as whether it represents “value for money”, should be investigated by the UK regulator now that it has been approved by the European Commission (EC)
The funding deal, planned through the government’s Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, was approved last week by the EC which found that the plans comply with European Union state aid rules.
But the EAC’s call for a probe into the multi-million pound funding arrangement follows closely behind similar calls from Labour’s shadow energy minister Tom Greatrex earlier this week.
The opposition party is understood to have raised concerns that the deal may not be in the best interest of UK consumers, who will meet the cost of guaranteeing a revenue for the project.
Calls for a review into the project have also been heard from beyond UK borders, with Austrian ministers said to be preparing legal action against the EC decision to allow the Hinkley project to move forward.
Industry analysts have voiced doubt over whether these objectives could slow the progress of the 3.2GW project.