'Great news' for hundreds of workers as Hartlepool Power Station's lifespan is extended by operator EDF
The decision to extend Hartlepool Power Station’s lifespan by an additional year has been described as “great news”.
The EDF-operated premises, which employ 500 staff and 200 contractors, were due to cease supplying zero-carbon electricity in March 2026.
But the company has now confirmed that the station will continue producing power until March 2027.
Hartlepool Power Station Director Mark Lees said after the December 4 announcement: “This extension is great news for this town, this region and indeed the country.
"It means we can continue to underpin the regional economy with further investment in our plant, we can retain our high-skilled well-paid workforce while future decisions about new nuclear are made and we can continue to produce the zero-carbon power the country needs.
"Today’s decision to extend this plant’s life is great news for our economy and environment.”
Hartlepool Power Station started producing electricity in 1983 after it was built over a 15-year period.
Mr Lees added: “When EDF acquired the UK nuclear fleet in 2009, Hartlepool was due to end its generating life in 2014.
"Instead we have been able to extend it three times and today, because we have confidence in its performance, we are doing that again.
"In a typical year this station produces so much electricity it could meet the needs of every home between Scarborough and Scotland. And all from a relatively small footprint.
"That makes me, and everyone here, enormously proud of what we do. Being able to keep going a little longer is great news.”
Three other EDF power stations, Heysham One and Heysham Two, in Lancashire, and Torness, in East Lothian, have also received extended lifespans up to as far as 2030.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the announcements were “a strong endorsement of our clean power mission”.
He added: “These extensions are a major win for our energy independence, powering millions of homes while supporting 3,000 good jobs across Lancashire, Teesside and East Lothian.
“We can’t achieve clean power by 2030 without nuclear, which provides an all-important steady supply of homegrown clean energy.”
In terms of the future after the current Hartlepool site finally closes, X-energy and UK deployment partner Cavendish Nuclear are planning to develop a 12-reactor plant using new technology, which would be built next to the existing station, by the early 2030s.