§ 17. Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Minister of Technology if, in view of the profits of the State electricity and gas boards, he will give a general direction to the boards to provide for a reduction of power prices for domestic rather than for industrial consumers.
Mr. Alan WilliamsNo, Sir. The boards relate their prices to the associated costs, and it would not be in the national interest to deprive industrial consumers of price reductions warranted by the reduced costs of supplying them.
§ Mr. AllaunAlthough it is a triumph for public ownership to produce lower charges alongside higher profits and higher wages, is not my hon. Friend aware of the resentment among Labour supporters that some State boards seem to be much more generous to commercial companies than to the ordinary consumer?
Mr. WilliamsMy hon. Friend will appreciate that in the long-term development of the power industries it is essential that we should have clear criteria where the appropriate investment should lie, and for this reason there has to be a clear relationship between the pricing of products in different parts of the market.
Mr. Edward M. TaylorDoes the Minister think that we might now be able to make a move towards removing the ridiculous situation whereby consumers in Scotland pay about 26 per cent. more for their gas supplies than the average consumers in England and Wales?
Mr. WilliamsWhat will be the exact impact on Scotland of the introduction of natural gas which, I believe, is due to come next year, I cannot as yet prophesy. All I can say is that, where 17 it has been introduced, natural gas has been accompanied by reductions in tariffs.
§ Mr. LubbockIs the hon. Gentleman aware that in the long term it is to the benefit of both domestic and industrial consumers for the C.E.G.B. and other generating boards in the United Kingdom to give power at special prices to large industrial consumers and energy-intensive industries—and to the aluminium smelters, which I welcome—and that there is scope for very much more of this kind of activity?
Mr. WilliamsThere is truth in what the hon. Gentleman says. The encouragement of bulk consumers gives a wider base for spreading overheads and can in the long term have repressive effects on price trends.
§ Mr. AtkinsonDoes not my hon. Friend agree that one primary function of nationalised industries is the redistribution of wealth, and that therefore the decision to give preference to industrial users is a contradiction of a primary function of the public sector?
Mr. WilliamsThere may be a certain clash of interpretation of what is the primary function, but the one given by my hon. Friend is certainly not what I would envisage as the primary function of nationalised industry. [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."] I am sorry, but my hon. Friend asked the question, and I am giving him the answer. I think that this is mainly a role to be played by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Department of Health and Social Security.
§ Mr. HannanIs my hon. Friend aware that the charge for electricity to domestic consumers in Scotland is less than the charge of all other area boards and that this is very much appreciated in Scotland?