EDF works council in new bid to delay Hinkley Point decision

PARIS, July 25 (Reuters) - The EDF works council has initiated new legal action to delay the French utility's decision about its 18 billion pound ($23.61 billion) Hinkley Point nuclear project in Britain but the court will not rule before a board meeting on Thursday.

EDF (Paris: FR0010242511 - news) has called a board meeting for July 28 that will consider a final investment decision, which unions want to delay as they consider EDF's finances too stretched to take on a project of this magnitude.

EDF works council secretary Jean-Luc Magnaval told Reuters the council had filed a complaint with a Paris court, which has scheduled a hearing on the case for Aug. 2.

"We demand a suspension of the decision," Magnaval said.

The works council had already filed a separate procedure to force the utility to release confidential documents about the project.

EDF, which concluded a consultation procedure with the works council earlier this month, declined to comment. ($1 = 0.7625 pounds) (Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain and Geert De Clercq; editing by Susan Thomas)