Hinkley Point B Nuclear Power Station Formally Handed Over to Nuclear Restoration Services: Becomes England's First Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor Transferred by EDF for Decommissioning

On 1 October 2026, the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) formally approved the transfer of the nuclear site licence, and Hinkley Point B Nuclear Power Station was officially handed over from Électricité de France (EDF) to Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS), a subsidiary of the UK government. This marks Hinkley Point B as the first Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor (AGR) nuclear power station in England to formally enter the national specialist decommissioning sequence, and the second AGR unit in the UK to complete such a transfer, following Hunterston B Nuclear Power Station in Scotland earlier this year.

Hinkley Point B Nuclear Power Station is located in Somerset and was built between 1967 and 1975. It was formally connected to the grid on 5 February 1976 and contributed vast amounts of clean baseload electricity to the UK grid over a 46-year commercial operating period. The station had been scheduled for decommissioning in March 2023, but after cracks were detected in the graphite core of one reactor, EDF shut down the unit ahead of schedule in July 2022 and moved it into the defuelling phase. Subsequently, the ONR formally approved its decommissioning plan in October 2025, and in January 2026 formally announced that the station had fully completed the removal of spent fuel from the reactors, achieving the “Fuel-free” safety milestone.

The receiving party, Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS), is part of the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) group under the oversight of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). With the statutory transfer of the licence, approximately 250 core engineering and operations personnel formerly employed by EDF transferred to NRS, leveraging their familiarity with the unit's full life-cycle operating characteristics to ensure a smooth transition for care and maintenance, decontamination, and dismantling works.

The UK Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the Environment Agency (EA) noted that the licence approval underwent extremely rigorous specialist assessment, confirming that NRS is fully capable of safely taking over and advancing complex decommissioning works. The Environment Agency simultaneously transferred environmental permits for radioactive substance discharges, water discharges, and waste disposal to NRS. Going forward, it will focus on regulating the transition adaptation period between the old and new operators as well as the long-term compliant disposal of radioactive waste. The relevant engineering experience will also establish a standardised paradigm for the decommissioning transfer of the UK's subsequent fleet of AGR units.

NRS Chief Executive Officer Rob Fletcher stated that NRS has accumulated deep local decontamination and decommissioning experience at the adjacent Hinkley Point A Nuclear Power Station (first-generation Magnox gas-cooled reactor). With the incorporation of the Hinkley Point B site, the two adjacent nuclear power plants will achieve experience sharing and engineering synergy, systematically advancing graphite core treatment and intermediate- and high-level waste management while safeguarding personnel safety and the public environment, embarking on decades-long long-cycle decommissioning works.