§ Mr. Sternasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will estimate the United Kingdom's demand for electricity in 2005, 2025 and 2050, respectively, and the proportion of that demand that would be provided by the proposed Severn barrage.
§ Mr. GoodladThe production of forward estimates of electricity demand is the responsibility of the electricity supply industry. If a Severn tidal barrage of the kind currently under consideration were to be built near Cardiff and Weston, it might provide about 5 per cent. of the current electricity demand level on average over the year. To the extent that electricity demand grew in the future, this percentage would become smaller.