ABSTRACT

A timely contribution and incisive analysis, this is the story of the British experiment in privatizing the nuclear power industry and its subsequent financial collapse. It tells how the UK's pioneering role in nuclear power led to bad technology choices, a badly flawed restructuring of the electricity industry and the end of government support for

chapter 1|6 pages

Introduction

part |2 pages

Part I The years of optimism (1945–1989)

part |2 pages

Part II A focused industry (1990–1995)

chapter 6|8 pages

The birth of British Energy (1995)

part |2 pages

Part III Life in the private sector (1996–2002)

chapter 7|14 pages

Privatisation (1996)

chapter 8|19 pages

Hubris (1997–1999)

chapter 9|14 pages

Nemesis (1999–2001)

chapter 10|25 pages

Crisis (2001–2002)

part |2 pages

Part IV Analysis: The causes of the crisis

chapter 11|21 pages

Financial strategy

chapter 12|13 pages

Corporate strategy

chapter 13|10 pages

The power price collapse

chapter 14|7 pages

The British reactor legacy

chapter 15|9 pages

The BNFL contracts

part |2 pages

Part V Conclusions: The multiple causes of failure

chapter 17|8 pages

Conclusion