EDF Energy has agreed to pay a £6million fine for breaching roles concerning how it reported its power plant availability.

Regulator Ofgem said monitoring had found the French firm, which has a base in Barnwood, had inflated the minimum amount of power it could supply from its West Burton B plant in Yorkshire from September 2017 to March 2020 at times when it was not planning to generate electricity.

Ofgem said EDF's thermal generation unit "regularly sent misleading signals to the National Grid electricity system operator".

EDF admitted the breach of regulations and agreed to make the £6million payment with Ofgem deciding there was "no merit in opening a formal investigation".

Saying the company took the issue "extremely seriously", a company statement said: "Although the breach was inadvertent, we should have done better."

Ofgem director Cathryn Scott said: "Ofgem's enforcement action sends a strong signal to all energy market participants that they must submit accurate data. If they don't, we have the powers to intervene and we are ready to use them."