§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to meet the chairman of the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board to discuss what emergency plans have been prepared to prevent a severe disruption of the electricity service in the board's area due to breakdowns, generally in the area of the Banff and Buchan constituency; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Allan StewartWhen I met the chairman and members of the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board earlier this year I discussed the impact of last winter's storms and congratulated the board's staff on their efforts to deal with the damage. Responsibility for security of supply rests with the board itself, which makes every effort to achieve a high degree of reliability in maintaining electricity supplies to consumers. The board has recently reviewed its contingency plans to take account of its experience in dealing with last winter's storms. In September 1983 the board approved a long term programme of refurbishing its transmission and distribution systems. One of the effects of the programme will be to increase the reliability of the system.