§ Mr. Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish in the Official Report the most up-to-date estimates made by his Department of total United Kingdom energy demand over the next 10 years; and if he will show his Department's estimates for the years 1980 to 1983 and the actual demand in each of those years.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerForecast estimates of energy demand for each of the next 10 years are not available. However my Department's energy projections, presented as an annex to the proof of evidence to the Sizewell inquiry, indicate that the total primary energy demands for the United Kingdom in the years 1990 and 2000 could be in the ranges 339–396 and 328–461 million tonnes of coal equivalent respectively.
The latest document* which included a forecast of energy demand in 1980 was published by the Department in 1976. No forecasts were made for the individual years 1981–1983. The document estimated the primary energy demand, on the assumptions shown, as 360–385mtce. The actual demand in the years 1980–83 is shown in the table.
United Kingdom Total Primary Energy Demand Million tonnes coal equivalent 1980 340.5 1981 329.9 1982 324.8 1983 326.5 All figures include fuels used for non energy purposes.
* United Kingdom Energy Supply and Demand Prospects. National Energy Conference 1976.