§ Mr. G. Elfed Daviesasked the Minister of Technology what loss of annual business to the coal industry is represented by the nuclear power stations now operating; and what are their excess costs by comparison with coal-fired stations in the coalfields built at about the same time.
§ Mr. Harold LeverIt is calculated that the output of nuclear power stations in 1968–69 was equivalent to 8 million tons of coal, but it would be misleading to assume that coal stations would necessarily have been built if there had been no nuclear stations. The earliest nuclear stations under the first nuclear programme were less economic than contemporary conventional stations but the later ones to come into operation have base-load costs similar to those of contemporary coal-fired stations in the same part of the country.