French financial authorities handed down a 5.5 million euro ($5.9 million) fine Thursday to electricity group EDF for providing false information on its Hinkley Point nuclear project in Britain. In a statement, the AMF finance authority said it would also fine former CEO Henri Proglio 50,000 euros. Regulators accused EDF -- in which the French government owns a majority 83.7 percent stake -- of a lack of transparency over cost overruns on its plans to build the United Kingdom's first nuclear reactors in more than 20 years. The French government last year blasted "unacceptable" delays and cost overruns on the controversial project and announced an independent audit. Electricite de France (EDF) last year estimated costs for the plant at £21.5-22.5 billion ($26.8-28.1 billion), a rise of £1.9-2.9 billion over previous estimates. A similar EPR (European Pressurised Water Reactor) third generation nuclear power plant project in Olkiluoto in Finland is a decade behind the initial schedule, as is the Flamanville project in western France. EDF is part of a French-Chinese consortium awarded the two-reactor Hinkley Point project in 2016 despite criticism from green groups and cost warnings from experts. It is supposed to provide seven percent of Britain's total power needs, according to the government. It is scheduled to start producing electricity in 2025 with a projected operational lifetime of 60 years. pan/ak/eb/cdw/pvh