Privatisation and Financial Collapse in the Nuclear Industry: The Origins and Causes of the British Energy Crisis of 2002

Book Details

• Author: Simon Taylor

• Brand: Routledge

• Edition: 1st Edition

• Binding: Paperback

• Number of Pages: 272

• Release Date: 13-06-2012

• EAN: 9780415542005

• Languages: English

About The Book
In "The British Nuclear Power Industry and the Economics of Privatization," Simon Taylor offers an incisive analysis of the UK's experiment in privatizing the nuclear power sector and the subsequent financial collapse of British Energy plc. The book delves into the origins of the crisis, examining the role of flawed government policies, poor technology choices, and the complex financial and corporate strategies that led to the downfall.

Taylor combines interviews with former executives, regulators, and analysts with his own in-depth knowledge of the nuclear industry, providing readers with a unique insight into the missteps that led to the industry's struggles. He argues that the stock market's failure to understand the true finances of British Energy, coupled with its overvaluation and misguiding signals to management, played a critical role in the company's collapse. The book also critiques the government's policy of offloading nuclear liabilities onto the private sector, which Taylor argues was neither credible nor practical.

The analysis suggests that the failure was not inevitable but resulted from a combination of internal and external factors that questioned the feasibility of combining a wholly nuclear generator with a liberalized power market.

This book will appeal to students and researchers in the fields of nuclear power history, privatization, regulation, financial strategy, and corporate governance. It will also be valuable to policymakers and strategists involved in energy policy and market regulation.