§ Mr. Blackburnasked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether any estimate has recently been made of the present average efficiency of coal utilisation in this country; whether any substantial progress has been made in this field during the past five years; and if he will give particulars.
§ Mr. GaitskellA number of estimates have been made during the past few years which vary between 18 per cent. and 30 per cent. So many varying factors need to be taken into account in any attempt to assess overall average efficiency that the time involved in trying to establish a reliable figure would not be justified. While substantial progress has undoubtedly been made during the last five years, it is not possible, except in individual cases, to assess the increase in fuel efficiency achieved. During the last 12 months my Department has had in operation a fully equipped mobile testing unit, with which it is possible to obtain an energy balance for a whole works. This has led to recommendations resulting in an average coal saving of about 15 per cent. in the cases surveyed.
Moreover, following earlier surveys of the fuel and power requirements in breweries and laundries, similar surveys of 12 major industries and of drying processes in 25 other important industries 216W are now being carried out. The results of these surveys are expected to lead among other things to the fixing of fuel efficiency indices in terms of coal per unit product which will form the basis for future comparisons of efficiency.
In the domestic field the improved appliances, which have been installed since the war, use coal with an efficiency of about. 40 per cent. as compared with less than 20 per cent. for the older appliances.