§ Mr. Colin Shepherdasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will set out in the Official Report a table showing in terms of 1985 prices the cost to a domestic consumer in 1974, 1979 and 1987 of a unit of electricity and a therm of gas, each computed on the basis of the standing charge for a quarter distributed across 1,000 units of electricity and 125 therms of gas and 25 kilogrammes of coal.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerThe information is as follows. Changes in tariff levels and structures over the period mean that the figures for each fuel are not directly comparable.
1985 prices Coal1 pence
per 25 kg
Gas2 pence
per therm
Electricity3 pence
per kWh
1 January 1974 98 32.6 2.433 1 January 1979 214 34.8 5.430 1 January 1987 239 41.2 5.880 1 Average prices for group 2 house coal. 2 1979 and 1987 relate to consumers on the domestic credit tariff in the General Zone. This did not exist in 1974; the 1 January 1974 price relates to the North Thames Region. 3 Average for the standard domestic tariff in England and Wales.