§ Mr. Masonasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the latest position as to coal stocks, covering stocks within the power station perimeters and elsewhere, giving separate figures for stocks of opencast coal; and what are his Department's estimates of how long these stocks will adequately satisfy power station and domestic consumer demand.
§ Mr. GoodladFigures on coal stocks are published in table 5 ofEnergy Trends, the latest edition of which appeared at the end of October. Stocks held by merchants and the industrial sector are not included as these figures are not available.
With coal stocks at power stations higher than they were at the end of August, there are no problems of satisfying the demand for electricity.