It's what you get when you run a nation's energy system in the short-term interests of the (mostly foreign) owners and shareholders rather than the long-term interests of the customers.
The CEGB might not have been the most efficient industry the world has ever seen, but to be fair that wasn't one of its key goals. It was charged with ensuring the whole country had a safe and reliable electricity supply that was engineered to grow to meet its needs, and it did very well indeed at that - including building truly world class nuclear generation in sensible timeframes. Sizewell B being a truly excellent example of how to do it. Then we privatised and let all the expertise drain away.
