§ Mr. Woofasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the estimated operating cost of coal-fired power stations generating electricity; what is the operating cost of oil-fired power stations; and what is the estimated cost of gas-fired stations.
§ Mr. BennI understand from the Central Electricity Generating Board that for 1974–75 the average operating costs of CEGB power stations commissioned in the last 12 years were as follows
0.62p per kilowatt-hour at coal-fired power stations;0.76p per kilowatt-hour at oil-fired power stations.These figures include the cost of fuel, salaries and wages and all other operating repairs and maintenance costs.The CEGB has only two gas-fired power stations. Both of these are dual coal/gas fired stations. No meaningful figure for the operating cost of gas-fired stations is, therefore, available. They do not include interest and depreciation charges.
§ Mr. Woofasked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what has been the amount, in tons, of oil consumed by the Central Electricity Generating Board power stations during each of the past five years;
(2) what has been the amount, in tons, of coal consumed by the Central Electricity Generating Board power stations during each of the past five years.
§ Mr. BennThis information, expressed on a coal equivalent, is given in the lower half—England and Wales—of Table 11 in the June issue of "Energy Trends" published by my Department and available in the Library of the House.
The figures in original units of measurement are as follows: