§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what consultations he has had with the Director-General of the Office of Electricity Regulation concerning the management of the generator-distributor pool and its rules concerning the withdrawal of declared capacity on the prior to generation day and its subsequent redeclaration on the day; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what consultations he has had with the Major Energy Users Council and the directors-general of OFFER and the Office of Fair Trading concerning the operation of the pool in September and October 1991 and its implications for electricity prices generally and for heavy users in particular; if he will use his powers regarding a reference to the Office of Fair Trading; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryMy right hon. Friend and I meet the Director-General of Electricity Supply from time to time and we discuss a range of issues. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has offered to meet the Major Energy Users Council to discuss electricity prices. We have had no consultations with the Director-General of Fair Trading. The Director-General of Electricity Supply has initiated an inquiry into the recent behaviour of the pool prices. It would not be appropriate for me to prejudge the outcome of that inquiry.
§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy what discussions he has had with the Director-General of OFFER concerning the operation of the electricity futures market since its inception on 1 November and the number of contracts traded; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryMy right hon. Friend and I meet the Director-General of Electricity Supply from time to time and we discuss a range of issues.