§ Mr. Churchillasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the current cost per kilowatt hour of electricity supplied by the most recently constructed coal-fired, oil-fired and nuclear-powered power stations.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe estimated costs of CEGB power stations currently under construction are as follows:
Completion £ per kW (March 1979 prices) Drax (coal-fired) (start on site 1978) 380 Heysham II (nuclear AGR) (start on site 1979) 720–800 No new main oil-fired stations are currently planned.
It should be noted that these current estimates reflect the circumstances of the individual sites and are not necessarily indicative of costs of building new stations on green field sites.
§ Mr. Churchillasked the Secretary of of State for Energy what is the current construction cost per kilowatt of coal-fired, oil-fired and nuclear-powered power stations.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe following table gives the generation costs in 1978–79 for the CEGB's six Magnox nuclear stations, 13 coal-fired stations and 2 oil-fired stations commissioned after 1 April 1965, as published in the CEGB's annual report for 1978–79:
per kwh* Nuclear (Magnox) 1.02 Coal-fired 1.29 Oil-fired 1.31 * Capital charges are expressed as annuities. The costs of nuclear stations include provision for reprocessing and vitrification of residues from nuclear fuels, and for the ultimate decommissioning of the stations.
Although the AGR station operating was not fully commissioned for that year, its costs on a comparable basis were about 1.3 p/kwh. These figures are not, of course, suitable as a basis for future investment decisions.
382WPower stations in Scotland and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.
§ Mr. Churchillasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the current price index, including fuel handling, per kilowatt hour of electricity, generated by oil, coal and nuclear power, respectively, taking 1970=100.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe price of electricity from different types of power station is not separately distinguished. The following information on the cost of electricity generated in the CEGB's nuclear (Magnox), coal-fired and oil-fired stations is available from 1971–72 relating to modern stations, and on accounting bases which have been subject to relatively minor changes as mentioned in the CEGB's annual reports.
1971–72 1978–79 Nuclear (Magnox) 100 237 Coal fired 100 300 Oil fired 100 336 Power stations in Scotland and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.