MINISTERS are to keep a “special” share in British Energy (BE) that will give them the power to block the sale of its nuclear-power plants after its takeover by the French.

The share - which the government has held since BE was created - will be carried over to the company’s likely new owner, Electricité de France (EDF). Last week BE’s directors recommended shareholders accept a £12.5 billion takeover by the French power giant.

The government’s retention of special powers reflects the strategic importance ministers attach to BE and its nuclear plants, which generate just under 20% of Britain’s electricity.

While the government, in particular business secretary John Hutton, encouraged the sale to EDF, it wants to retain a say in the future of the British plants.

The share means EDF would have to seek the green light from government if it wanted to dispose of any of the key BE power generation and finance companies.

“In essence, it means the government can stop EDF selling the UK nuclear plants to someone the ministers think would be unsuitable,” said one source close to the negotiations.

Vincent de Rivaz, UK head of EDF, said he was happy with the arrangement. “There is no problem with it. I have no problem with the deal at all,” he said.

As revealed by The Sunday Times last week, if EDF succeeds in buying BE it plans to build two new twin-reactor power plants, at Sizewell in Suffolk and Hinkley Point in Somerset.

It has agreed to sell spare BE sites to help other utility groups build competing atomic plants.

Several European utility groups, including RWE, Iberdrola, Eon, Vattenfall and Suez are understood to be eager to build new nuclear plants in the UK, with some going as far to help fund the approval of new reactor designs.

EDF has signed a memorandum of understanding with Centrica, the owner of British Gas, to sell it a 25% stake in BE.

The French group’s takeover announcement reveals that it has had a “standstill” agreement with Centrica relating to BE since May 7.

The sale of the stake is not yet certain, however. “There is no deal,” said De Rivaz. “We are having ongoing discussions. We have to wait and see.”

Having committed to spend £3.1 billion on the BE stake, Centrica is having to look elsewhere to fund other parts of its business. It has hired investment bank Credit Suisse to find partners who can invest up to £1.5 billion to help fund its £3 billion wind-farm development programme.

The bank will send out information memoranda to potential investors in the next fortnight.

Centrica hopes to raise up to £500m against its wind farms at Glens of Foudland in Scotland, and Lynn and Inner Dowsing off the Lincolnshire coast.

It could raise a further £1 billion to defray the cost of building much larger offshore farms at Lincs, Race Bank and Docking Shoal off the Lincolnshire coast.

The exact amount it will be able to attract is unclear as the latter projects have yet to receive planning permission.

To attract investors, Centrica is understood to be willing to share the income from the generous government subsidies granted to operating wind farms, known as renewable obligation certificates.

The company declined to comment on its financing efforts beyond saying that it is “looking at options for financing our wind farms and to optimise the way in which we deploy our capital”.

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