HC Deb 09 May 1967 vol 746 cc1263-4
18 and 19. Mr. McGuire

asked the Minister of Power (1) whether he will refuse to approve the Central Electricity Generating Board's applications for nuclear power stations at Heysham in Lancashire and Seaton Carew in Durham on the grounds that his own department do not now expect electricity produced from the early A.G.R. stations to be any cheaper than that produced from new conventional stations, despite the considerably greater capital cost of the nuclear stations;

(2) what is the average cost per kilowatt hour of electricity being supplied from the present nuclear power stations and the average cost from coal-fired stations built about the same time.

43. Mr. Dickens

asked the Minister of Power if he will refuse to authorise the building of more nuclear power stations until the first of the advanced gas-cooled reactor stations is in operation and reliable figures for the running costs are available.

Mr. Marsh

The Magnox type stations now coming into commission generate at about 0.7d. per kilowatt hour; typical costs for contemporary coal-fired stations would be about 0.55d. Dungeness B at 0.1d. per kilowatt hour is expected to show a clear cost advantage over contemporary coal-fired generation and to compete with oil generation at present tax rates. Costs are expected to fall in each of the later A.G.R.'s and parity with oil before tax may well be achieved by the final station of the second nuclear power programme.

Mr. McGuire

Would not my right hon. Friend agree that there have been many contradictory statements and expectations in the past about the cost of nuclear power production, namely, that it would be cheaper than coal-fired stations, whereas the present estimates and trends are that it will be dearer? Would not my right hon. Friend agree that what we really want is a proper inquiry into the full cost and not to have nuclear power costs deflated at the expense of conventional power stations?

Mr. Marsh

There would be no point in anybody pretending that the future of nuclear power was much worse than it is if this were contrary to the truth. It is not true that all the present estimates show that nuclear powered generation will be more expensive than by coal. The facts are that the estimates all show that the second range A.G.R. will be cheaper, and increasingly so.

Sir K. Joseph

While recognising that forecasts of nuclear power costs are rising both in America and in this country, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman to undertake that no decision will be made by the Government on Heysham and Seaton Carew until the formidable analysis by Mr. Duncan Burns in his recent book has been given full study by the Select Committee and fully answered by the A.E.A.?

Mr. Marsh

I do not think that one can get to a position where major Government policies are held up because somebody has written a book. I think that Mr. Duncan Burn's book is rather heavily criticised in many quarters for some pretty glaring inaccuracies.

Mr. Hogg

Will the right hon. Gentleman be extremely cautious about accepting criticisms of the cost of nuclear power, which are very often motivated by interested alternative sources of fuel, and sometimes by American industry?

Mr. Marsh

I think that the right hon. and learned Gentleman has raised an important issue on his last point. It does not do this country a great deal of good to have people going around deliberately decrying something in respect of which we have done extraordinarily well.