The owner of energy supplier British Gas has been urged to scrap plans to build nuclear power stations following the delay of a prototype facility.
Centrica has signed a £4 billion agreement with EDF to construct new plants in the UK but should "not touch it with a bargepole", according to analyst Lakis Athanasiou of Evolution Securities.
He told the Guardian: "Centrica is a minority holder in a technology in which it has no institutional understanding, and where … construction risk is notorious."
Meanwhile, the company's British Gas Residential Energy arm has reported half-year operating profits of £300 million even before next month's price hike comes into effect.
Domestic energy customers with the supplier will see gas costs rise 18 per cent and electricity up 16 per cent on average.
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