§ Mr. PrescottTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish in theOfficial Report the price increases for coal, gas and electricity industries for each of the years since 1974 compared with the changes in the retail price index.
§ Mr. ParkinsonThe table shows movements in the average price of each fuel for the domestic and industrial 585W sectors in each year. The figures are derived from indices of actual fuel prices which are published in Energy Trends and the Annual Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics. They accordingly reflect, where appropriate, factors such as the time taken for tariff changes to feed through into bills ; regional differences in the structure of tariffs and the weighting of their components ; and the number of consumers on each tariff and their pattern of consumption. They show the percentage movement in the average price of each fuel, compared with the preceding year, from 1974 to the latest available date ; and the average movement in the retail prices index, excluding fuels.
Year on year percentage changes in average prices of coal, gas and electricity consumed; 1974 to 1987 Percentage Retail Coal Gas Electricity Prices Index1 Domestic sector2 Industrial sector3 Domestic sector Industrial sector Domestic sector Industrial sector 1974 15 11 9 5 15 21 37 1975 23 34 52 16 39 46 33 1976 17 24 23 22 45 24 16 1977 16 16 24 17 37 14 15 1978 9 11 10 3 23 10 10 1979 13 17 22 4 14 9 11 1980 17 28 29 17 36 27 23 1981 11 18 16 26 22 20 16 1982 8 7 9 25 6 10 10 1983 4 6 4 12 2 4 — 1984 5 8 1 4 3 1 — 1985 6 6 6 4 7 3 4 1986 5 3 -4 2 -13 2 1 19874 4 — -5 — 5-4 -1 -3 1 Excluding fuels. 2 Includes coke. 3 Excluding coal for electricity generation. 4 Average of Q1, Q2 and Q3 1987 for the domestic sector and the RPI. Average of Q1 and Q2 for the industrial sector. 5 Estimated. Source: Price indices published in Energy Trends and the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics.