Poor households face having to help foot bill for building Sizewell C

Sizewell B in Suffolk. EDF proposes building two nuclear reactors north of the existing nuclear power plant. Photograph: Fiona Hanson/PA

The UK government has been criticised for exposing low-income households to the cost of building the Sizewell C nuclear power plant while letting factories “off the hook” as a crucial planning decision is due this week.

If given the green light, the government hopes to use a regulated asset base (RAB) funding model to finance the project, which is being proposed by the French energy firm EDF.