Didcot power station repair bill could run to £9m after major blaze

THE COST of repairs to a Dicot power station have been estimated in the region of up to £9m, after a major fire razed half the facility to the ground last month (Oct).

The blaze at Didcot B Power Station, operated by npower, began in a cooling tower, before spreading to three others, fanned in strong winds, in a blaze battled by 100 firefighters for two hours.

This week, nPower spokeswoman, Kelly Brown, said the cost of repairs had been estimated by nPower as between £2m to £9m, with the station operating at over 90 per cent capacity.

Following the blaze, half the capacity from the power station - some 1.3GW - was affected. No-one was hurt.

Terrorism or arson were ruled out as the cause, with an investigation continuing into this, and by Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (OFRS), in conjunction with Thames Valley Police and other agencies.

A smoke plume affected the local neighbourhood areas as the fire raged and residents were instructed to stay indoors and to shut all windows.

The gas powered, Didcot B Power Station provides electricity to around one million homes and following the fire, the Government denied there would be an increase in winter black-outs, due to any loss of capacity at the power station.

Secretary of State for Energy Edward Davey, said at the time: “I’ve been reassured by National Grid that there is no risk to electricity supplies.”