§ Mr. HardyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what volume of coal was taken from stock for the purposes of electricity generation in 1995–96; and what was the total volume of stocks remaining on 1 April. [2337]
§ Mr. PageBetween the beginning of April 1995 and the end of March 1996, stocks of coal at power stations fell by 3.5 million tonnes to stand at 6.4 million tonnes. Stocks of coal held by coal producers also fell by 3.5 million tonnes over this period to stand at 5.5 million tonnes at the end of March 1996 but it is not possible to state exactly what proportion of these stocks were delivered to the electricity industry. However, it is known that 77 per cent. of supplies from the coal industry—that is, stocks plus newly mined coal—were delivered to power stations during this period.
SourceTable 6 "Energy Trends".
446W