§ Mr. Swainasked the Minister of Power how much business he estimates would be lost to coal in 1970 and 1975 on the assumption that surplus North Sea gas were used in power stations during the summer.
§ Mr. FreesonAs my hon. Friend will be aware, there is a pilot scheme at Hams Hall, but no decisions have yet been taken about the further use of natural gas at power stations. It is too early to say how much gas may be available for60W summer-only use or how much of that might be used in power stations normally fired with coal in 1970 or 1975. The scope for using natural gas at power stations in the period up to 1970–71 will be limited by the arrangements made under Section 6 of the Coal Industry Act, 1967, to use extra coal.