French energy giant EDF saw its UK profits decline last year, attributed to a combination of falling energy prices and a significant outage at one of its nuclear power stations.

Despite this setback, the company has announced plans for a substantial £15 billion investment in the country over the next three years.

The energy firm reported a 12 per cent decrease in nuclear output from its five operational power stations during the period.

While its Sizewell B facility in Suffolk and Torness in Scotland performed strongly, the overall output was significantly impacted by an extended outage at the Hartlepool power station.

The Teesside-based station, which began generating power 43 years ago and supplies electricity to approximately two million homes, experienced a prolonged shutdown.

Despite these operational challenges, Hartlepool recently secured a one-year extension to its operational lifespan, now expected to generate electricity until March 2028.

This extended downtime, primarily due to issues affecting one of its two reactor systems, was identified as the main driver for EDF‘s overall decline in nuclear generation last year.

Furthermore, a decline in earnings was also down to the prices it charges for nuclear power being lower than in 2024.

It is understood that average prices were down by approximately 20 per cent.

Energy prices in the UK have been gradually coming down after spiking in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

EDF said that in its UK business, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were £1.9 billion for 2025, down about a third from £2.9 billion in 2024.

EDF’s nuclear fleet provided about 12 per cent of the UK’s total power demand last year – which it says makes it Britain’s biggest generator of zero carbon electricity.

The company said it invested more than £5 billion in Britain over 2025, 30 per cent more than the year before.

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Over the next three years, it plans to plug a further £15 billion into the UK across its different businesses – which also incorporates wind and solar power generation.

A large portion of the funding will go towards the development of the Hinkley Point C power plant which is being built in Somerset.

EDF is separately an investor in the major Sizewell C project in Suffolk, which is backed by the Government.

The two developments are expected to provide low carbon electricity to meet 14% of UK demand and power around 12 million homes.

Simone Rossi, chief executive of EDF in the UK, said: “EDF is continuing to invest heavily in powering, supplying and building an electric Britain.

“Our UK strategy is to deliver a long-term nuclear and renewables generation business, and to meet the evolving needs of our customers as more and more transition away from fossil fuels to using cleaner, more secure and affordable electricity.”

The government currently has no roadmap for mergers among public sector banks, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, indicating that consolidation is not under active consideration even as a new banking reform panel is set to review the sector’s future.“I am not familiar with any roadmap…there isn’t one,” Sitharaman said in a media briefing after her post-Budget customary address to the Board of the Reserve Bank of India, PTI reported.She clarified that bank consolidation was neither discussed during Budget preparations nor raised in recent deliberations, though the proposed High-Level Committee on Banking for Viksit Bharat will examine all aspects related to strengthening the banking ecosystem.“Bank consolidation was not a subject here, nor was it a subject before the Budget, but the Committee, which is now being appointed, once the terms of reference are given, they will look into every aspect of how to strengthen Indian banking,” she said.In the Union Budget 2026-27, Sitharaman proposed setting up a ‘High Level Committee on Banking for Viksit Bharat’ to comprehensively review India’s banking sector and align it with the country’s growth goals while safeguarding financial stability, inclusion and consumer protection.“I propose setting up a ‘High Level Committee on Banking for Viksit Bharat’ to comprehensively review the sector and align it with India’s next phase of growth, while safeguarding financial stability, inclusion and consumer protection,” she had said in the Budget speech on February 1.The committee is expected to draw up a blueprint aimed at creating mega lenders capable of meeting the financing needs of a developed India.As part of broader financial sector reforms, the Budget also proposed restructuring Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) to achieve scale and improve efficiency in public sector NBFCs. REC is a subsidiary of state-owned power sector lender PFC, and both institutions play a key role in financing power generation, transmission and distribution projects.In March 2019, PFC completed the acquisition of a majority stake in REC Ltd by transferring Rs 14,500 crore to the government. PFC acquired 103.94 crore shares, representing a 52.63 per cent stake, along with management control, at Rs 139.50 per share following approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.Commenting on the banking sector’s health, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said banks are adequately capitalised and capable of sustaining credit growth for the next four to five years, supporting the economy’s financing needs.He added that deposit growth is now keeping pace with credit expansion.On moderation in net foreign direct investment (FDI), Malhotra said gross FDI inflows have continued to rise.Last year, he said, “It increased by about 14-15 per cent. Even this year, gross FDI has increased, and the growth rate is also high. It’s because of repatriations of those people who had done earlier FDI. It has gone out. The net (FDI) has decreased”.Similarly, he said Indian companies are increasingly investing overseas as domestic economic measures have strengthened confidence, which has also contributed to lower net FDI levels.