Mr. Powellasked the Secretary of State for Energy how much oil was used in Central Electricity Generating Board power stations in January 1979 and January 1980; how many power stations have been converted from oil to coal in the last five years; and how many power stations are using oil.
§ Mr. Norman LamontDetails of fuel used by the public supply system in England and Wales are published monthly in table 9 of Energy Trends. Total oil burn in CEGB power stations for the four-week periods January 1979 and January 1980 was 1.04 million tonnes and 0.55 million tonnes respectively These amounts include oil used in gas turbines, diesel plant and for lighting up and flame stabilisation in coal-fired boilers.
Although there have been no conversions of CEGB power stations from oil to coal burning in the last five years, Kingsnorth power station boilers were adapted to dual firing capable of burning both coal and oil, and the board's coal burn increased from about 66 million tonnes a year to about 80 million tonnes a year while oil burn decreased from over 10.5 million tonnes a year to about 5 million tonnes a year in that period.
Eighteen CEGB steam power stations, with a declared net capability of 8.8 GW, are wholly oil-fired, of which seven (1.5 GW) are due to be decommissioned in October 1981 together with the oil-fired boilers at one of the board's three mixed fired stations. None of the remaining stations is currently expected to operate on base load.