HC Deb 23 November 1987 vol 123 cc8-9
8. Mr. Cryer

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the current estimate of the cost of Sizewell B; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Michael Spicer

The total cost at 1987 prices is £1.7 billion, including the simulation and visitors' centre and the charge for initial fuel.

Mr. Cryer

Is not the massive sum to be spent on this very dangerous process, which was reported on after the Chernobyl accident, the source of the increased prices of between 8 and 9 per cent, recently forced on the Central Electricity Generating Board by the Government? Does that not mean that the weakest members of our society —pensioners, single-parent families and others in receipt of low incomes — are having to bear the cost of the Government's vendetta against the miners, who can produce cheap coal for our power stations?

Mr. Spicer

I do not follow the hon. Gentleman's argument. One of the requirements of the people whom the hon. Gentleman mentions is electricity, and one of the Government's objectives is to ensure that the electricity capacity exists to meet that requirement.

On conventional power stations, the latest construction cost figure, which includes the cost of desulphurisation plants for the coal industry, is very nearly £1.5 billion, so the figures are pretty much comparable.

Mr. Stern

Will my hon. Friend remind the hon. Member for Bradford, South (Mr. Cryer) which component of the electricity industry has the better safety record—the coal sector or the nuclear sector?

Mr. Spicer

It is a sad feature of the coal industry that it still has a great many casualties and fatalities, although the number is falling. Of course, those figures do not apply to the nuclear industry. Therefore, the implication of my hon. Friend's question is correct.

Mr. Jack Thompson

In view of the proposals to privatise the electricity industry and the apparent strong resistance on the part of any potential purchasers to buy nuclear stations, will not the Sizewell B proposal become a huge white elephant?

Mr. Spicer

The hon. Gentleman makes various assumptions about the structure of the industry and people's willingness to buy. Private industry is deeply and positively involved in investment in the nuclear industry in several countries of the world.

Mr. Forth

Does my hon. Friend agree that investment in Sizewell B at the price that he has given is a remarkable bargain, as Sizewell, along with other stations, will provide a cheap, reliable and clean source of energy for the future? Will he give weight to Opposition Members' representations on behalf of the coal industry in proportion to those Labour Members — four — who turned up to vote on Friday after a key debate on the coal industry?

Mr. Spicer

I can only say yes to my hon. Friend. There is no question but that, in relation to base load supply, the nuclear industry provides cheaper electricity.

Dr. Thomas

In view of the figures that the Minister gave relating to the cost of Sizewell B, what is the realistic possibility of the Government's responding to requests from the CEGB to build a further series of PWR stations to replace the existing Magnox stations?

Mr. Spicer

We understand that the board proposes a further five PWR stations. We shall have to take the proposals on their merits when they are put to us. There may well be public inquiries if objections arise, so I cannot prejudge our final decision.

Mr. Prescott

Can the Minister confirm the view put forward by the Secretary of State at the recent privatisation conference that he is actively considering imposing on the industry a requirement for a 25 per cent, nuclear capacity? Is not the Secretary of State flying in the face of market decision-making and the Government's policy of non-interference, on which the Government have rested their case for privatisation of the electricity supply? Does this not confirm the Opposition's view that there is a necessity for an energy policy, whereby the Governments must interfere and that the market cannot solve these problems on its own?

Mr. Spicer

The hon. Gentleman is right to the extent that the Government are committed—I think that the Conservative party is the only party represented in the House that is so committed — to the future of the nuclear industry. We are determined that that future will be in a private industry. Exactly how that is brought about depends on the structure of the industry, when we announce it.