§ Mr. RedwoodTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate she has made of the change in employment in coal mining which would result from licensing an additional 1,000 MW of gas-fired electricity generating capacity. [47525]
§ Mrs. Beckett[holding answer 25 June 1998]: An additional 1,000 MW of gas-fired electricity generating capacity could displace approximately 2.5 million tonnes of coal a year. The precise impact would depend on the extent to which both the new gas station and existing coal stations operated which, in turn, would be affected by the relative prices of coal and gas. The impact on employment in coal mining in the UK would depend on where generators whose electricity was displaced would have bought their coal.