Een wedstrijdelement kan helpen, zelfs in een wetenschapsprogramma. Maar misschien is het sympathieker, oppert de Iraanse Tina in Sexbierum, om niet van alles een wedstrijd te maken.

Elke week luncht NRC mee bij een bedrijf. Deze week: Eco-Runner Team Delft in de Dream Hall, waar brokken komkommer verdwijnen in een pan met een doorsnede van anderhalve meter, die vervolgens op een eettafel gejonast wordt.

DEN HAAG (ANP) - Het kabinet wil dat het goedkopere abonnement om in de zomer in daluren onbeperkt te kunnen reizen op 21 juni ingaat. Dat abonnement moet tot 1 september geldig blijven. Dat is de uitwerking van het voorstel van GroenLinks-PvdA-leider Jesse Klaver voor een ticket van 49 euro per maand.

Het kabinet was tijdens het debat over de stijgende kosten door de oorlog in Iran positief over het idee. Op die manier zouden mensen in de zomer geld kunnen besparen door dit ticket. Hetzelfde abonnement kost normaal gesproken 127,95 euro per maand.

Om het voor het begin van de zomer te kunnen laten ingaan, moeten de Tweede en Eerste Kamer nog akkoord gaan met een wijziging van de begroting van het ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat. Het plan kost 118 miljoen en wordt betaald uit ongebruikt geld uit het Klimaat- en energiefonds en het Mobiliteitsfonds.

DEN HAAG (ANP) - De Autoriteit Consument & Markt heeft een internationaal energiebedrijf berispt voor het te laat naar buiten brengen van marktgevoelige informatie. De marktwaakhond noemt het bedrijf niet bij naam, maar meldt dat de onderneming zowel elektriciteit produceert als energie verhandelt.

Het ging om informatie over het af- en bijschakelen van installaties voor het opwekken van elektriciteit. De beschikbare productiecapaciteit bepaalt het aanbod van energie en werkt daarmee door in de prijs. Als die informatie te laat of niet openbaar wordt gemaakt, kan dat verboden handel met voorwetenschap in de hand werken omdat niet alle handelaren dezelfde informatie hebben.

"Dit kan eerlijke prijsvorming op de groothandelsmarkten voor energie schaden en ondermijnt het vertrouwen in de markt", waarschuwt de ACM.

De ACM heeft het betreffende energiebedrijf een officiële waarschuwing gegeven. De directie beloofde daarop maatregelen te nemen om herhaling te voorkomen, zegt de toezichthouder. Bij onvoldoende verbeteringen kan de ACM een boete opleggen.

The UK’s £38.2 billion (c $51 billion) Sizewell C (SZC) nuclear reactor is set to offer investors high rewards for little exposure to risk, while the consumer will see a £19 ($25.50) annual hike to their bills, according to a public sector spending watchdog. A report from the National Audit Office on plans for building the second in a new generation of nuclear power plants — Sizewell C in Suffolk — finds that the current estimated impact on consumers “relies on some big assumptions” about chance of further cost increases. Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: “Sizewell C forms a significant part of the government’s plan for a secure and affordable clean energy supply. There has been a concerted attempt to learn from the problems of previous nuclear power construction projects and other large infrastructure schemes. This has resulted in a novel financing structure and DESNZ will need to monitor the risks to taxpayers and billpayers closely.” Construction started in April 2024, although the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) did not finalize its deal to complete the build with French energy firm EDF until July 2025. The government chose to create a joint venture company — Sizewell C Ltd — with DESNZ taking a minority stake and private investors, including EDF, taking the lion's share. The government’s National Wealth Fund will provide £36.6 billion (c $49 billion) in finance, while £5 billion will come from commercial lenders. The project plans to keep costs down by learning lessons from Hinkley Point C (HPC), which is expected to start generating electricity in 2030 after originally targeting 2025. In addition to the delays, cost have climbed to £35 billion from an initial estimate of £18 billion. The mammoth building project is part of the government's plans to meet rising demand for electricity — not least from datacenters and electric vehicles — while achieving its targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reaching net zero. The government expects SZC to power the equivalent of 6 million homes for at least 60 years. Even though the Sizewell C company claims its build plans benefit from delays to Hinkley Point C, and will cost less to build, consumers may still end up paying more for the electricity the new plant produces because Hinkley Point C's "price was set before its cost overruns and SZC is affected by the rise in borrowing costs since then,” the NAO said. Part of the build cost will come from an increase in household electricity bills of £4 in the current financial year, rising to a peak of £19 to £21 a year in the first decade of the plant’s operation. The government admits that electricity from SZC will be more expensive compared with other forms of renewable generation, but it argues there is an overall benefit in the mix of supply. Solar and wind power are cheaper on the face of it, but they are also unreliable, creating hidden costs in balancing the energy grid. “DESNZ’s modelling shows lower total system costs with SZC. This is because intermittent renewables require additional transmission infrastructure, reserve generation capacity, and other balancing services, which those standard generation cost metrics do not capture,” the report said. The NAO points out that the current estimated costs rely on some “big assumptions.” At the same time, private investors' exposure to risk is not balanced with their rewards. A "government support package" provided by DESNZ includes contractual commitments that limit risks to private investors of cost overruns and certain unlikely but high-impact risks. This means private investors share construction risk with consumers and taxpayers but are exposed to “tail‑end” scenarios above the higher regulatory threshold, in a deal designed to attract private investors. “The sharing of risk with the taxpayer and consumer appears to have reduced the cost of financing the project, but the rewards for investors still appear high, given their limited exposure to project risk. The extent to which investors will be incentivized to control project costs in the way DESNZ assumes is unclear,” the report said. Only future generations may discover whether the project is worth it in the end. “The modelled benefits only start to outweigh those costs after 2064,” the NAO said. ®

Andy Burnham due to address supporters as he officially launches campaign to be Labour candidate for Makerfield

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics.

Andy Burnham is set to officially launch his campaign as the Labour candidate in the Makerfield byelection this morning, as he seeks a return to parliament after nine years.

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The US secretary of state described an upcoming meeting as ‘one of the more important leaders’ summit in the history of Nato’

Rubio begins with thanks to Sweden for hosting the ministerial meeting.

But that’s where the niceties end as says the upcoming Ankara summit will be “one of the more important leaders’ summit in the history of Nato,” as the leaders will have to respond to Trump’s “disappointment” with the alliance’s “response to our operations in the Middle East.”

“That will have to be addressed, that won’t be solved or addressed today. That’s something for the leaders level to discuss.”

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