As bills rise for its UK customers EDF could be facing serious price rises itself after problems emerged building its nuclear power station in its native France.

French-owned it might be but the nuclear energy specialist has its UK headquarters in Barnwood, Gloucester, from where it is planning the nation's next generation of power stations.

In the South West region the most-talked about is the first of that new wave - Somerset's Hinkley Point C.

It has emerged that an inspections at its new-build Flamanville plant in north-west France had uncovered problems which could put the project further behind schedule and over budget.

All of which has led some experts to wonder what this might mean for Hinkley.

According reports the French state-owned firm has confirmed it had found problems with welding on pipes at the £9.2bn Flamanville plant.

EDF said: "Following the current checks and the licensing process by the ASN, EDF will be able to specify whether the project requires an adjustment to its timetable and its costs."

The design of the reactor at the plant is the same as that planned for Hinkley.

"If they can't build their own reactor in France, where can they build it? This seems counter to their claims that they are learning from their mistakes and Hinkley won't be a repeat," said Paul Dorfman, of the Energy Institute at University College London in the Guardian newspaper.

All of which comes as the company broke the news it was to become the second of the big six energy suppliers to raise prices.

Its more than a million customers will face a 1.4 per cent increase, relatively modest compared to British Gas's 5.5 per cent rise.

It means fuel bills for EDF customers on a standard variable rate tariff will see increases on average of £16 a year.