§ Mr. Tim Rentonasked the Secretary of State for Energy when his study on the installation of ripple control commenced: when he expects it to be completed; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EadieStudies on various aspects of ripple control have been carried out both within this Department and the electricity supply industry over a number of years. The Electricity Council is now assessing its studies in co-operation with area boards and the Central Electricity Generating Board. This is a complex matter and my right hon. Friend cannot give a firm completion date for the studies.
Offpeak Electricity Supplies
§ Rear-Admiral Morgan-Gilesasked the Secretary of State for Energy what representations have been made to him concerning his plans to phase out the reduced charges for offpeak electricity for night storage heaters; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EadieMy right hon. Friend has received some representations about the Government's decision to withdraw the temporary special rebate on offpeak tariffs. He would like to make it clear that offpeak tariffs will continue to be made available after the withdrawal of this temporary rebate. Offpeak electricity will remain a great deal cheaper than electricity on normal tariffs.
§ Mr. Cyril Smithasked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) if he will direct the Electricity Council to withdraw forthwith all advertisements for night storage 332W heaters which refer to reduced electricity charges for such heaters;
(2) if he will direct the Electricity Council to purchase storage heaters from persons wishing to sell them and who bought them in response to advertisements promising reduced electricity charges.
§ Mr. EadieNo. As my right hon. Friend indicated in his reply to the hon. Member for Bolton, West (Mrs. Taylor) on 25th March, although the temporary special rebate introduced last year into offpeak tariffs is to be phased out, these tariffs will continue to be available and offpeak electricity will remain a great deal cheaper than electricity on normal tariffs.
Coal Production
§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for energy what are the quantities of coal produced in February and in March 1975 and in the same months of 1973.
§ Mr. EadieDetails of coal production are published monthly in "Energy Trends". For convenience, the figures requested are given below:
COAL PRODUCTION (Thousand tons) 1973 1975 February … … 11,754 10,939 March … … 14,931 Not available The figure for March will be published in the Official Report in the next few days.
Electricity Supply (Circuit Breakers)
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will introduce legislation to allow electricity boards discretionary powers to provide a minimal amount of electricity by the use of a miniature circuit breaker, to households who have defaulted on payment, in order to reduce hardship and danger.
§ Mr. EadieNo. The boards maintain close contact with the social security services to help cases of genuine hardship.