§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what was the cost to the Central Electricity Generating 303W Board of each kW of electricity produced in 1973; what was the average price paid by industrial and private consumers; and what was the total amount of Government subsidy paid;
(2) by how much the prices paid for each kW of electricity used in 1974 by industry and the private consumer are estimated to fall short of the cost to the Central Electricity Generating Board of each kW of electricity produced; and what is estimated to be the amount of Government subsidy which will be paid to cover the shortfall.
§ Mr. EadieI have asked the Chairman of the Electricity Council to write to the hon. Member about the electricity industry's costs and prices. The present estimates of the industry's likely deficits are £160 million for the financial year 1973–74 and between £160 million and £200 million for 1974–75. The amount of Government subsidy in relation to both years has yet to be determined.
§ Mr. McGuireasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is his current estimate of the cost per unit of electricity sent out from nuclear, oil and coal fired power stations, respectively.
§ Mr. EadieI understand from the Chairman of the Central Electricity Generating Board that the latest year for which figures are available is 1972–73, and the table below gives the range and average generation costs of all stations commissioned in the last 12 years.
Nuclear
- Range: 0.33p per kWH to 0.81p per kWH.
- Average: 0.48p per kWH.
oil-Fired
- Range: 0.39p per kWH to 0.47p per kWH.
- Average: 0.40p per kWH.
Coal-Fired
- Range: 00.40p per kWH to 10.69p per kWH.
- Average: 00.49p per kWH.
All generation costs quoted include both station operating costs and capital charges—that is, interest and depreciation. The operating costs include the amounts paid for fuel in 1972–73: in the case of oil this includes tax at the rate of £2.30 per ton, which is equal to about 0.05p per kilowatt hour.