§ Mr. CotterTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will estimate the average price of a unit of gas supplied for industrial use in(a) January 2000 and (b) January 2001. [148301]
§ Mr. HainThe average price of a unit of gas delivered to industrial end users in Great Britain was 0.556 p/kWh in the first quarter of 2000. The latest available comparable figure relates to the third quarter of 2000 when the average price was 0.552 p/kWh. Accurate figures for the average price paid in January 2001 are not available. However provisional information on price movements suggests that, on average, prices paid by industrial end users have risen by about 40 per cent. between January 2000 and January 2001. This average figure will reflect prices paid by all industrial customers, including those on long term fixed contract prices.