§ Mr. HardyTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will carry out consultations to establish the degree of disadvantage which higher electricity prices create for significant exporting industries.
§ Mr. BaldryPrivatisation will create a market in which large users can seek competing bids for supply. To give them time to do so, the Government have asked the electricity industry to offer customers taking more than 1 MW a real price freeze for one year. It would be premature to conclude that such users will face higher prices thereafter.