§ 12. Mr. Alisonasked the Minister of Power if he will give a figure for the estimated capital expenditure of the Central Electricity Generating Board for the period 1966–67 to 1970–71, in the light of the Electricity Council's recently announced retrenchment programme; and how this figure compares with the programme approved in December, 1965.
§ Mr. MarshI expect to receive revised estimates when the C.E.G.B. submit its next capital development programme in May. These will take account of the Electricity Council's recently adopted load forecast of 54,000 MW for 1972–73.
§ Mr. AlisonIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that, since he has given the figure of 15 per cent. cut-back by 1970, it is only reasonable that we should assume that the figure of 2,000 million which he gave in reply to a Question by the hon. Member for Bedfordshire, South (Mr. Gwilym Roberts) would be taken to be a scale of the reduction? Is not this a simply fantastic scale of cut-back in electricity investment?
§ Mr. MarshI am rather surprised that the hon. Gentleman should raise this point again. The Electricity Council went to considerable trouble to try to explain the position to him and to point out that one cannot draw a direct comparison between investment and load forecasts. When we have the investment programme in the very near future, the hon. Gentleman will have the specific figures.