HC Deb 01 November 1955 vol 545 cc830-1
28. Mr. Nabarro

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the cost, per kilowatt installed, £/kwI., of the Constructional Scheme No. 31, Tummel Valley (Additions Project), as set out in Statutory Instrument, 1955, No. 1469; and how such a scheme compares in capital cost with standard oil-fired generators of equivalent capacity at today's average price of approximately £60 per kilowatt installed.

Mr. Henderson Stewart

This scheme provides for 3,900 kilowatts of new plant and will enable 8,000 kilowatts of existing plant, at present idle, to be used. The estimated cost of the 11,900 kilowatts is £113 per kilowatt.

The estimated cost per unit of the 32.7 million units to be produced from the scheme is 0.53d., which is less than the cost of producing the electricity by any other means and about one-third of the average cost of generating from oil in the North of Scotland district.

Mr. Nabarro

Is it not a fact that this scheme was produced and put on to paper before the Government's plans for the amendment of capital investment were announced? As the capital investment cost of this scheme is markedly higher than that of alternative methods, cannot the scheme be reviewed before it is commenced?