Reuters The decision of British utility SSE to review its nuclear new-build plans deals a blow to the British government and sends a negative signal to investors uncertain about whether to leave their money in the UK. SSE's decision comes just two months after the government announced ambitious plans to reform the electricity market to reduce carbon emissions, but proposals failed to provide sufficient detail for investors to be sure they receive a satisfactory return on their money. Suggestions include a so-called contracts-for-difference mechanism which will reward low-carbon power plant operators for using technology which emits zero or little CO2. But the government has yet to decide how these contracts are set and who delivers them from the public side. “It's the lack of certainty which puts investors off, they want to know what kind of contract it will be. People are trying to see where best to put their capital,” said Karen Dawson, director in the energy sector at consultancy PwC. “(SSE's decision) sends a big signal to the government saying: ‘Look you've got to give us more security'.” A minimum price for carbon imposed from April 2013 is also part of the reform package. The energy ministry said SSE's review was a matter for the consortium and that it was working to remove any unnecessary obstacles to investment in new nuclear. SSE's partners, Spain's Iberdrola and France's GDF Suez , are expected to split SSE's 25 percent share equally among themselves and analysts believe the two utilities can deliver the first new build project by around 2023 without their British partner. To some nuclear experts the news did not come as a surprise as SSE does not have a history of nuclear expertise and has largely focused on investing in renewable energy. “This doesn't throw cold water on the UK nuclear new build program in which SSE only has a small part,” said Andrew Grenville, global head of energy and infrastructure at law firm Clifford Chance. “They are in a consortium with companies who look big enough to continue on their own.” France's EDF and a German consortium grouping rivals RWE and EON also plan to build new nuclear plants in Britain, but none of them have made a final investment decision. EDF, together with its junior partner Centrica , plans to build the first new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset, but its timetable for a startup of the plant has already slipped following a review of Britain's nuclear sector after Japan's nuclear crisis. __
