§ Mr. Formanasked the Secretary of State for Energy how many weeks or months earlier than planned by the Central Electricity Generating Board the construction of the second stage of Drax was begun; and on what energy policy considerations the decision was based.
§ Mr. EadieContracts were placed for the design phase in November 1977. Some orders for materials have already been placed, and the CEGB anticipates that manufacturing work could begin in the first half of this year. The CEGB estimates that major orders would not otherwise have been placed before 1980. The decision to ask the CEGB to advance the order was in recognition of the problems of the power plant manufacturers and is a mark of the Government's confidence in the United Kingdom coal industry.