§ 28. Mr. JackTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the United Kingdom's ability to meet its electricity needs in each of the next five years. [159091]
§ Mr. HainAt present, generating capacity available to the UK exceeds peak demand by around 25 per cent. This margin is widely considered to be more than adequate to meet its electricity needs.
The generating margin in future will continue to be determined by supply and demand conditions in the wholesale electricity market, as generators make commercial decisions to open new plant or close existing plant.
It is estimated that plant currently under construction, together with projects that have already received all the necessary consents, would be sufficient to meet both rising demand and some retirement of existing capacity and still maintain a margin of around 20 per cent. by 2005.