Request for information on North London Heat and Power Project

Good afternoon, 

Further to our email acknowledging your freedom of information request (reference 2026-280), our response is as follows. 

You requested:

You have requested information on:

• Current construction progress: please provide an update on the current status of construction of the new Energy from Waste facility, including:
  • Key milestones completed to date
  • Any significant outstanding works
• Updated project timeline: please provide the most recent project programme and anticipated dates for:
  • Practical completion
  • Commissioning
  • Full operational commencement
  • Please also outline any revisions to the original timeline, including the reasons for delays.
• Cost implications of delays: please provide details of the financial impact of any delays to the project, including:
  • Any revised total project cost
  • Financing or borrowing cost increases attributable to delay
• Existing incinerator operational extension: please confirm whether the current Edmonton incinerator will continue operating beyond its originally intended decommissioning date as a result of delays to the new facility. If so, please provide:
  • The revised expected closure date
  • Any costs associated with extending its operational life
• Decommissioning plans for the existing facility: please provide the current plans and timetable for decommissioning the existing Edmonton incinerator.
• Project risk and governance: please provide copies of any recent project risk registers, board reports, or summary papers relating to:
  • Construction delays
  • Cost overruns

Our response:

The most recent updates regarding the construction progress, updated project timelines (including for demolition and decommissioning of the existing plant), project costs and information regarding the existing facility's operations which are not subject to exemptions due to the commercially sensitive nature of the information, were provided in a recent freedom of information request on 8 June 2026 and are publicly available in our information request responses on the NLWA website. 

Progress reports on governance and risk relating to the North London Heat and Power Project (NLHPP) are made publicly available on our website for Authority Meetings. The most recent NLHPP update was made in February 2026. Further information on governance and risk is reported in part 2 papers (which are exempt accordingly because it falls within the Category 3 of Schedule 12A Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) to Authority Members which is subject to confidentiality due to the commercial nature of the information. This information is withheld under section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. 

Section 43(2) applies where disclosure would or would likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person. The withheld information contains detailed commercially sensitive information. Disclosure would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of both NLWA and its contractors by weakening their respective positions in ongoing commercial and contractual discussions and by revealing commercially sensitive information to competitors.

Section 43(2) is a qualified exemption and we have therefore considered the public interest test. We recognise the public interest in transparency and accountability concerning the delivery of a major publicly funded infrastructure project. However, we consider that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure because release of the withheld information would be likely to prejudice ongoing commercial activities and could result in increased costs to the public purse.

We have considered whether any of the information can be disclosed in redacted form. However, the commercially sensitive information is so closely linked to the substantive content that meaningful disclosure is not possible without undermining the purpose of the exemption.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you may ask for an internal review, which should be submitted within two months of when you received our response to either informationrequests@nlwa.gov.uk or enquiry form quoting the above reference. 

If you are not content with the outcome of the review, you may complain to the Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, or via their online portal. The Information Commissioner will not usually accept complaints before a review has been completed.

Kind regards,

North London Waste Authority