§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the present over-capacity of the Northern Ireland Electricity Service; and what is his estimate of future trends.
§ Mr. Adam ButlerMaking normal allowances for contingencies, the present operational generating capacity of the Northern Ireland Electricity Service of 1,800 MW is adequate to meet a peak winter demand some 100 MW greater than occurred in 1979–80. The completion of phase I of the Kilroot power station is scheduled to add a further 600 MW of generating capacity to the system by the spring of 1982. The present forecasts of electricity demand104W suggest that this existing and additional capacity will be sufficient to meet the needs of Northern Ireland until the mid-1990s, when some plant will be due for retirement.