Electricity (Hansard, 15 April 1993)

§ Mr. Spearing
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received concerning amendments to the Electricity Act 1989.

§ Mr. Eggar
[holding answer 14 April 1993]: The Trade and Industry Select Committee made a number of recommendations in its 1992–93 report "British Energy Policy and the Market for Coal" which could, if accepted, have required amendments to the Electricity Act 1989. The Select Committee's recommendations, and the Government's responses, are set out in chapter 16 of the recent White Paper, "The Prospects for Coal".

§ Mr. Spearing
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received concerning amendment of the Electricity Act 1989 to make the duty to protect the interests of the consumer one of the Secretary of State's primary statutory responsibilities; and what response he has given.

§ Mr. Eggar
[holding answer 14 April 1993]: The Trade and Industry Select Committee recommended that the duties of the Director General of Electricity Supply should be amended to make the protection of consumers one of his primary duties. The Director General has said that he does not believe such an amendment would be necessary to enable him to protect the interests of customers. Chapter 16 of the Government's recent White Paper, "The Prospects for Coal", makes it clear that the Director General already has a duty to protect consumers in terms of prices and other terms of supply and that the main protection for consumers is the development of effective competition. The promotion of competition is one of the Director General's primary duties.

§ Mr. Llew Smith
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what consideration he has given to amending the Electricity Act 1989 to ensure the full costs of radioactive waste management and nuclear decommissioning associated with nuclear generated electricity are charged to electricity consumers on their electricity bills.

§ Mr. Eggar
The Electricity Act 1989 already allows the Secretary of State to make regulations to impose a levy on all licensed suppliers of electricity in order to compensate the regional electricity companies for the additional costs incurred in contracting with Nuclear Electric, and the 718W non-fossil generators, rather than fossil-fuelled sources. The premium paid to Nuclear Electric, together with income from electricity sales at the market price, enable the company to meet the full costs of generating electricity from its stations, including the full costs of radioactive waste management and decommissioning.