§ Mr. Edwin Wainwrightasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many coal-fired power stations are 245W now in operation in the United Kingdom; what was the total amount of coal consumed for the past 12 months; how these figures compared with those of each of the past four years; and what are the estimated figures for each of the next four years.
§ Mr. Tom BoardmanThe following table shows the number of coal stations in use and the tonnage of coal consumption over the five years to 31st March, 1973. The number of coal-fired power stations in future operation is a matter for the Generating Boards, but I expect coal to continue to provide a major proportion of the fuel used for electricity generation.
Figures for financial years ended 31st March are as follows:—
UNITED KINGDOM POWER STATIONS USING COAL Year ended Number of Quantity of 31st March Stations Coal Used million tons 1968 166 69.9 1969 162 75.1 1970 159 75.7 1971 154 73.4 1972 149 67.3 Note: The numbers of stations in the table above nclude those using both coal and oil but exclude gas turbine stations using small quantities of coal.