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France's auditor said French nuclear company EDF should not make a final investment decision on the UK's Sizewell C reactor project until it has reduced its exposure to another British development, Hinkley Point C.
The Cour des comptes also said that it belongs to the government EDF it must ensure that any international projects are profitable, and must not delay the process of new nuclear projects in France.
The auditors' comments on Tuesday came just hours after the Financial Times reported that the cost of building the Sizewell C project in Suffolk it is likely to reach £40bndouble the forecast by 2020.
The new figure reflects rising construction costs and the effects of delays and cost overruns at sister site Hinkley in Somerset.
A delay in the final investment decision from EDF could hold up the project and lead to further cost increases.
The UK government and EDF, the original backers of Sizewell C, have been trying to raise billions of pounds from new investors, with a final investment decision now delayed until spring.
Asked about the FT's report, the Cour de Comptes said the increase appeared “rational” due to the higher costs of other such projects.
The Cour des comptes also recommended that any final investment decisions on the EPR2 systems – the technology on which Hinkley Point C and other new reactors are based – should be reserved until funding is confirmed, and detailed studies have been carried out to evaluate projects. .
This could lead to a more cautious approach from EDF to the EPR2 of six reactors in France, announced by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2022.
The Cour des comptes also criticized the long-delayed Flamanville project in northern France, which recently started supplying electricity to the grid, 12 years late.
The president of the Cour des comptes Pierre Moscovici said he was predicting a “moderate profit” for the project with the available data, adding that EDF refused to give him information about the plant's profit. It predicts that the energy group will never recover its investment in capital.
The concerns come as France did he promised to build six additional domestic reactors in the coming decades to meet its electricity needs – an ambitious and costly goal that critics say will be close to impossible.
In the UK, questions about Sizewell's future will add to concerns about the British government's plan to revive nuclear power, which aims to produce a stable “baseline” as the electricity system shifts to a much higher reliance on renewable energy.
The first new power station was planned to be Hinkley Point C, which was supposed to be completed in 2017, but was later pushed back to 2025.
Early last year EDF admitted the Somerset scheme would not be completed until 2029, with costs jumping up to £46bn.
The French company then blamed the latest problems on the difficulty of installing electromechanical systems and complex pipes.
EDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Cour des comptes report.