You are weighing an equity investment in Sizewell C: regulated, inflation-linked returns over 60 years, but only if it gets built. After Hinkley Point's overruns, does the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) framework, with government backing, transfer enough construction risk away from you to make this nuclear megaproject investable?
You are weighing an equity investment in Sizewell C: regulated, inflation-linked returns over 60 years, but only if it gets built. After Hinkley Point's overruns, does the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) framework, with government backing, transfer enough construction risk away from you to make this nuclear megaproject investable?
The case follows Jane Singh, an investment director at Monarch Partners, as she weighs an investment in Sizewell C, a £38 billion nuclear project. The long-dated, regulated returns are attractive, but the project carries significant construction risk, illustrated by Hinkley Point, a comparable reactor that ran years late and well over budget. Jane must judge whether the regulated asset base framework and government support transfer enough of that risk away from equity to justify proceeding.
The case covers the history of regulation and deregulation in UK power, the role of nuclear in reaching net zero, and an overview of regulated utility models. Through this, students learn how climate law and regulation shape power generation and how the regulatory structure allocates the risks of a nuclear megaproject.
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