The government will announce its decision on whether to build a new generation of nuclear power stations on Thursday, Downing Street said today.
The business secretary, John Hutton, will make the announcement in a statement to MPs on energy security.
A spokesman for the prime minister said: "John Hutton will make a statement to MPs and part of that will be the decision on whether or not to go ahead with the next generation of nuclear power stations."
The spokesman also said any firms that built the new power stations would be expected to fund their eventual decommissioning costs in full.
"We have always been clear that if the government decides new nuclear should be an option, operators should set aside funds for their full share of the cost of the long-term management of waste and the full cost of decommissioning," he said.
The spokesman would not speculate on what the "full share" of the costs of managing waste would be.
"The prime minister's general view is that we do have to take some difficult decisions about the future energy security of our country," he said.
The government first announced its support for more nuclear power stations in 2006. However it had to relaunch its consultation process after the high court ruled that the original procedure had been flawed.
The cabinet is expected to discuss the move at its regular weekly meeting tomorrow, when ministers are expected to agree that new stations should be built to secure Britain's future energy supplies.
Monday January 7, 2008
Guardian Unlimited