§ Mr. EvennettTo ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he has any plans to introduce legislation to amend the generating plant licensing provisions of the Electricity Act 1989; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MorganTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals he has to issue a statement on his licensing policy on gas-fired generating stations.
§ Mr. Eggar[holding answer 5 June 1992]: The Government have made it clear that, in considering an application to construct and operate a generating station, as a general rule, matters such as the need for a generating station, its capacity, choice of fuel to be used and type of plant should be treated as commercial matters for the applicant concerned.
31WIn a news release of 9 March 1992, the Government announced that they may also need to consider whether they should review the use of their powers under the Electricity Act to issue consent to power stations.
That remains the position.
A copy of the news release of 9 March 1992 has been placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. EvennettTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on his Department's policy concerning the approval of new non-fossil fuel generating plants.
§ Mr. EggarI refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave today to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan).
§ Mr. MorganTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what consultations he has had with the Director General of Electricity Supply concerning the maximum number, location and total generating capacity from combined cycle gas-fired power stations capable of connection to the national grid without any adverse effect on the stability of the electricity supply system.
§ Mr. Eggar[holding answer 5 June 1992]: I meet the Director General of Electricity Supply from time to time and discuss issues of mutual interest.
Questions relating to grid code obligations are matters for the National Grid Company and the director general.
§ Dr. TwinnTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list those applications lodged with his Department for combined cycle gas turbine power station consents, the date of lodgement and the timetable for processing these applications; and if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on the role of gas in the United Kingdom energy market.
§ Mr. Eggar[holding answer 5 June 1992]: The applications made under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 are as follows:
Site Applicant Application made Plymouth PowerGen plc 5 October 1990 Staythorpe "C" National Power plc 16 October 1990 Didcot "B" National Power plc 14 November 1990 Ardleigh Eastern Generation Ltd. 17 May 1991 Connah's Quay PowerGen plc 1 July 1991 Stalling-borough Humber Power Ltd. 18 July 1991 Shoreham South Coast Power Ltd. 27 September 1991 Seabank Seabank Power Ltd. 18 October 1991 Greenwick MetroPower Ltd. 31 October 1991 Trafford Electricity System Industry 31 December 1991 King's Lynn Eastern Generation Ltd. 15 January 1992 Deeside Deeside Power Development Co. Ltd. 17 January 1992 Kingsnorth Kingsnorth Developments 13 March 1992 On timing, each application has to be dealt with on its merits. With respect to the role of gas, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave today to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan).