Energy Conservation

HC Deb 23 March 1983 vol 39 cc409-10W

Mr. Forman

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how much energy in terms of millions of tonnes of coal equivalent has been saved each year since 1979 in the United Kingdom in (a) the domestic sector, (b) the industrial sector, (c) the commercial sector and (d) the transport sector; and what proportion in each case was attributable to the Government's energy conservation policy as distinct from the effects of the recession.

Mr. Gray

The changes in final energy consumption in million tonnes of coal or coal equivalent, between 1979 and, separately, 1980 and 1981, are as follows:

	mtcoe
	1980 change on 1979	1981 change on 1979
Domestic	-2.53	-2.52
Industrial	-16.12	-20.53
Commercial etc.	-0.49	-0.47
Transport	+0.27	-1.63

Cubic ft×109
	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982
Argyll	1.1	2.1	1.4	1.4	1.9	1.7	1.1	2.7
Auk	—	1.6	2.7	1.7	1.2	0.8	0.9	0.9
Beatrice	—	—	—	—	—	—	0.3	1.1
Beryl	—	3.5	27.8	8.7	7.1	4.9	3.6	3.8
Brent	—	1.3	18.8	56.4	118.2	44.6	43.1	39.6
Buchan	—	—	—	—	—	—	2.1	3.0
Claymore	—	—	0.3	4.2	1.5	0.4	0.5	0.5
South Cormorant	—	—	—	—	0.2	5.3	2.8	2.0
North Cormorant	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.3
Dunlin	—	—	—	1.2	9.4	7.9	6.4	3.3
Forties	1.4	17.5	36.7	41.4	39.9	32.2	28.2	26.1
Fulmar	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	10.2
Heather	—	—	—	0.7	3.5	1.2	2.9	3.8
Montrose	—	0.6	4.6	6.4	7.1	6.5	5.3	4.1
Murchison (UK)	—	—	—	—	—	1.7	11.2	7.6
Ninian	—	—	—	0.1	16.0	19.5	17.1	7.5
Piper	—	0.2	23.5	28.1	16.1	11.0	6.5	4.8
Statfjord (UK)	—	—	—	—	0.3	2.5	0.7	1.1
Tartan	—	—	—	—	—	—	4.4	3.0
Thistle	—	—	—	5.3	6.7	7.9	7.4	7.7
Terminals
Flotta	—	—	3.3	4.2	4.3	1.6	1.2	0.6
Sullom Voe	—	—	—	—	—	—	3.1	8.0

Since 1978 flaring from each oilfield on the UKCS has been given in the annual report to Parliament by the

Note:

Detailed figures by sector are not yet available for 1982.

It is difficult to separate out in quantitive terms the effects on energy consumption over such a short period of time, of changes in economic activity, on the one hand, and a combination of pricing and other energy efficiency measures, on the other.

But my hon. Friend may wish to note that the fall of 11 per cent. in total final energy consumption—mtcoe—between 1979 and 1981 compares with a decline of 5 per cent. in GDP.