See all updates about nuclear power.
Now here's a surprise: the government was being 'economic' with the truth when it promised that we, the taxpayers, wouldn't have to foot the extortionate bill for new nuclear power.
It turns out that we, the consumers, will be picking up our fair share.
Yep, the day after the papers reported a 15 per cent energy price hike, we're being told to brace ourselves for more hikes if the government succeeds in dragging us down the nuclear road.
Energy firms have been bending ministers' ears to make sure they're allowed to pass on the costs of decommissioning new nuclear plants to customers. These costs are estimated at £10 billion per plant, which means consumers will be paying a whopping £100 billion - not for the electricity we're consuming, but to make sure the plants are made "safe" once they've finished operating.
"It is understood that plans have been agreed," says The Guardian, "for the government to collect a fee from the companies for each unit of electricity used in British homes to build up a fund to meet decommissioning costs. It is expected this extra fee will be passed on to consumers in the form of higher bills." But these funds will fall well short of the true costs of the clean up and disposal of the waste. Exit stage left nuclear utility, final curtain taxpayer.
And this doesn't even take into account the costs of transporting and storing the nuclear waste, and the £1 billion cost of bribing compensating whichever lucky community is chosen to host the waste site(s) - all payable by the taxpayer. That's on top of the £5.3 billion we've paid to dig the woefully incompetent British Energy out of its financial black hole. And then there's the £70 billion bill the taxpayers will have to foot to clean up our existing nuclear mess...
On Thursday, the government will announce its decision on nuclear power. It's a choice between a financial dead duck that needs multi-billion pound subsidies and guarantees to even get off the ground or the much more sensible, cheaper, cleaner, safer options such as renewables, energy efficiency and combined heat and power, which can do far more to stop climate change and ensure energy security far more quickly and for far less money. On Brown's current record of competence, we're not holding our breath.