§ Mr. William RossTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his estimate of the total sums of public money invested in the nuclear power industry since 1963 in cash terms and at 1993 prices; and what percentage of the United Kingdom's electricity is now produced by nuclear energy.
§ Mr. HeseltineThe main public sector companies in the nuclear power industry are Nuclear Electric and Scottish Nuclear. An indication of past investment in these companies is provided by the gross value—before depreciation—of tangible fixed assets stated in their published accounts. At 31 March 1993, the historic cost value of these assets was about £10 billion and the current cost value was about £15 billion. In accordance with standard accounting conventions, asset values are stated at the lower of cost—replacement cost in the case of current cost accounts—or value to the business.
In 1993 about 26 per cent. of electricity available from the United Kingdom public supply system was produced by nuclear power stations in the United Kingdom.
Source: Energy Trends, Tables 18 and 19.