HC Deb 18 July 1967 vol 750 cc219-20W
64. Mr. Urwin

asked the Minister of Power what estimate he has made of the number of pits likely to be closed and the corresponding number of miners displaced in the event of the proposed Seaton Carew power station being fired by other than conventional means.

Mr. Marsh

The extent to which a new coal-fired station would benefit employment in the North-East is one of the matters I shall be examining with the National Coal Board before coming to a decision on the new station.

65. Mr. Urwin

asked the Minister of Power what has been the total amount of capital invested in the modernisation of the six coastal collieries adjacent to the proposed power station at Seaton Carew; and what the impact on costing will be if the station is not coal fired.

Mr. Marsh

The total investment since Vesting Date has been £30 million. The full economic implications of alternative methods of firing a new power station will be studied before a decision is made.

Mr. Urwin

asked the Minister of Power what evidence has been presented to him of the cost competiveness of coal and nuclear energy as alternative fuels for the proposed new power station at Seaton Carew, expressed in terms of price per therm.

Mr. Marsh

I have not yet reached a decision on the C.EG.B.'s application to build a nuclear power station at Hartlepool. Before doing so I will take account of the prospects of all alternative fuels for electricity generation in the context of fuel policy as a whole.

Mr. Urwin

asked the Minister of Power what representations he has received from the Durham area of the National Union of Mineworkers in connection with the proposal to site a new power station at Seaton Carew.

Mr. Marsh

The Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers wrote to me on 16th May stating the union's objections to the proposal to build a nuclear power station at Seaton Carew. In my reply I assured him that all the points made would be fully considered before I made any decision.

Mr. Urwin

asked the Minister of Power to what extent he will take into account the possibility of redundancies on British Railways as a result of the elimination of coal freight in coming to his decision on whether to authorise a nuclear-fired power station at Seaton Carew.

Mr. Marsh

I shall be consulting my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport about the implications for British Railways before I take a decision on the proposed power station.