EDF Energy awaits Scottish vote

The Scottish referendum on whether Scotland should be an independent country that is taking place today will affect EDF Energy "whatever the outcome", Vincent de Rivaz, the French-owned company's CEO, said in a letter to staff.

EDF Energy's Hunterston and Torness nuclear power plants account for a third of Scotland's total electricity generation, de Rivaz said.

De Rivaz said he has met with Alex Salmond - Scotland's First Minister and leader of the pro-independence campaign - twice in the last four months and "secured assurances" from him on the future operation of Hunterston and Torness. Salmond is leader of the Scottish National Party, which has pledged to phase out nuclear power in Scotland. De Rivaz has also met with the leaders of the Better Together campaign, which is opposed to Scottish independence – Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling, who are the former British prime minister and chancellor, respectively, and are both themselves Scotsmen.

There are three key questions should Scotland vote to break away from the United Kingdom, according to de Rivaz's letter to staff.

First, what will be the arrangements for regulation, relating both to nuclear and energy, in the event of an independent Scotland? Second, what arrangements will there be for long-term liabilities, such as paying for the decommissioning and liability management costs of the Hunterston and Torness plants, which are currently the responsibility of the Nuclear Liability Fund? Third, will there continue to be a single Great Britain Electricity Trading and Transmission system in the event of Scottish independence?

"What is clear is that, beyond the primary reassurance about the ongoing operation of nuclear, the answers to these questions remain uncertain, depending on the outcome of the vote and any negotiations that may follow," de Rivaz wrote in the letter that was sent to staff on 15 September.

The GMB trade union said Salmond "had been agreeing life time extensions for nuclear plants" and that he had "not been honest" about nuclear liabilities and the costs associated with managing decommissioning and waste.

"There does need to be some clarity as to what will happen to Scottish nuclear waste and the huge implications the answer has for Scotland," Gary Smith, GMB national secretary for energy and utilities, said. "We have long argued that Scotland's energy reserves and resources are owned by organizations based outside these shores. The two nuclear power stations are owned by a French state company and other parts of Scotland's energy structure have overseas owners. Most of the oil and gas is owned by US and multinationals from other nations. When it comes to energy we live in an interdependent world."

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) "will be guided by the agreement reached between the two governments in the event of a yes vote," spokesman Bill Hamilton said, adding that the NDA will make a statement tomorrow "once the results are known".

The final opinion survey of the Scottish referendum campaign, conducted by Ipsos Mori, shows a six-point lead for the no campaign at 53% of decided voters compared with the yes group's 47%.