§ Mr. Macfarlaneasked the Secretary of State for Energy how much of the 1976 United Kingdom power production, in percentage terms, was generated by (a) coal, (b) oil, (c) nuclear and (d) others; and what is his estimate in similar terms for 1978, 1980, 1982 and 1984.
§ Mr. EadieIt is not possible to say how much electricity was generated by each type of fuel separately because some stations use both coal and oil or coal and natural gas. The percentage split between coal, oil, nuclear and other primary fuels used for the generation of electricity by the United Kingdom public supply system was given in my reply to the hon. Member for Carshalton (Mr. Forman) on 7th February.—[Vol. 925, c. 501–2.] Forecasts of fuel consumption are subject to much uncertainty. As I stated in my reply to the hon. Member for Blaydon (Mr. Woof) on 22nd November 1976.—[Vol. 919, c. 824–5.]—for 1980 it is anticipated that total fossil fuel burn will be much the same as in 1976 and that nuclear and hydro will be in the range 20–25 mtce.