HC Deb 07 February 1977 vol 925 cc501-2W
Mr. Forman

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the total input of primary fuel for the production of electricity in the United Kingdom; and how this is divided up between (a) coal, (b) oil, (c) nuclear and (d) other, as coal equivalents and as percentages.

Mr. Eadie

Information on the quantities of primary fuel used by the public electriciity supply industry in the United Kingdom is published regularly in Table 9 of "Energy Trends", copies of which are available in the Library of the House. The latest figures published in the January issue for the period January-November 1976 are given below together with the corresponding percentages:

Primary fuel Million tons of coal or coal equivalent Percentage
Coal 67.0 70.2
Oil 14.5 15.3
Nuclear 10.0 10.5
Other (Hydro and natural gas) 3.9 4.0
Total 95.4 100.0

The coal and oil figures include very small quantities used for the production of steam for sale. The oil figure includes a small amount used for lighting up coal-fired boilers. Nuclear and hydro electricity are expressed in terms of the coal equivalent of the primary fuels that would be needed if the same amount of electricity was produced in conventional steam stations.

Mr. Forman

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the total output capacity of the public electricity supply industry in the United Kingdom; and how this is divided up between (a) coal, (b) oil, (c) nuclear and (d) other, as megawatts and as percentages.

Mr. Eadie

The latest available figures for output capacity of public electricity supply power stations in the United Kingdom are for the end of September, 1976. They are as follows:

Type of station Output Capacity (Megawatts) Percentage
Coal fired 43,284 62.6
Oil fired 11,580 16.7
Dual fired* 4,946 7.1
Nuclear 4,621 6.7
Other † 4,751 6.9
Total 69,182 100.0
* Stations fired by both coal and oil, or coal and natural gas.
† Hydro (including pumped storage) diesel and gas turbine stations.

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