HC Deb 05 February 1979 vol 962 cc21-2
20. Mr. Rost

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he last met the chairman of the Electricity Council.

Mr. Benn

I keep in close touch with the chairman of the Electricity Council, and saw him last in November.

Mr. Rost

As there is increasing evidence that electricity is pricing itself out of the energy market because it converts its fuel so wastefully, will the right hon. Gentleman, when he next meets the Electricity Council, explain how the consumer will react to the further increase in electricity prices which must come, particularly if he does not support the chairman of the National Coal Board in the forthcoming wage negotiations?

Mr. Benn

The hon. Gentleman is a keen supporter of combined heat and power, and so am I. But he will also recognise that where there is a big capital investment in a particular series of large power stations it is not possible to shift overnight from a low percentage utilisation of primary fuel to the high percentage that combined heat and power would provide. I have made it clear on a number of occasions that I and many other people have grave doubts about the early 1960s policy decision that the only thing to go for is massive power stations. Such a station is vulnerable. It can go out of action like Abenthaw B, which, I believe, has operated at only about 40 per cent. capacity since it was built, or Hunterston, where technical trouble led to loss of power for a year. I strongly support the hon. Gentleman's advocacy of combined heat and power, provided he recognises that it takes a little time to shift from one strategy to another and that it cannot be done overnight.

Mr. Stoddart

When my right hon. Friend met the chairman of the Electricity Council, did the chairman tell him of the increasing frustration of the Council that we have not yet got an electricity reorganisation Bill before the House? If my right hon. Friend did hear that from the chairman, will it help him with the discussions now going on, so that we can get a Bill before the House?

Mr. Benn

I am keen to get a Bill forward, and so is everyone with whom I have discussed it. The trouble is that there is no agreement about what such a Bill should say. Therefore, I am trying, by discussion with the Opposition—and I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Bridgwater (Mr. King) who has been very cordial in the discussions we have had—to reach an agreement that would permit a Bill to get a Second Reading and go into Committee. But I cannot commit the hon. Gentleman, and I cannot even commit myself at this stage. It is our hope, however, that the Bill will proceed, because it is not in the interest of the industry that it should be a political football when what it needs, and has needed for many years, is a basic Act of Parliament giving it the power to reorganise, subject to general parliamentary supervision.

Mr. Speaker

Before we turn to the questions to the Minister for Overseas Development I should like to express my gratitude to Ministers and hon. Members for their co-operation, because we have heard a lot more questions and answers.