§ David DavisTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the capacity of the national power grid is. [151264]
§ Mr. TimmsFigures published in National Grid Transco's Seven Year Statement of March 2003 show that the capacity of the England and Wales transmission system is 69.1 GW.
§ David DavisTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the projected demand for power is in the United Kingdom over the next 25 years; and what steps she is taking to ensure that this demand is met. [151265]
§ Mr. TimmsThe latest provisional DTI energy projections which update those in Energy Paper 68 available in the Libraries of the House, project a demand of 375TWh in 2005, 385TWh in 2010, 386TWh in 2015 and 399TWh in 2020. The projections relate to gross supply to the grid and cover all major power producers and renewable generators and exclude the effect of a number of climate change programme measures whose exact impact had not been estimated at the time of publication.
499WThe Government attach great importance to reliable energy supplies—reliable supply is one of the four goals of energy policy as set out the Government's Energy White Paper, published in February of last year.
We believe that a market based approach for provision of electricity generation will work. But if the market is to work it needs confidence that Government will not intervene. We have said we will not intervene in the market except in extreme circumstances, to protect safety, and that remains our position.
Through the Joint Energy Security of Supply working group (JESS), we and Ofgem continually monitor developments in the gas and electricity markets over the medium to long term and look for ways to improve the
500W
Name Appointment ends Remuneration (£) (a) National Consumer Council Deirdre Hutton (Chair) 31 December 2006 48,567 Robert Chilton (Vice-Chair) 30 September 2004 13,100 Graeme Millar (Member and SCC Chair) 30 April 2006 10,481 Vivienne Sugar (Member and WCC Chair) 31 March 2007 10,481 Stephen Costello (Member and GCCNI Chair) 31 December 2005 10,481 Mark Boleat (Member) 31 December 2005 10,481 Andrew Dilnot (Member) 30 June 2008 10,481 Dianne Hayter (Member) 30 September 2004 10,481 Sir Christopher Kelly (Member) 30 September 2004 10,481 Stephen Locke (Member) 30 September 2004 10,481 Julie Mellor (Member) 30 September 2004 10,481 Julia Unwin (Member) 30 September 2004 10,481 (b) Welsh Consumer Council Viv Sugar (Chair) 31 March 2007 6,902 Heather Coates (Member) 30 September 2004 100 per day Stephen Delahaye (Member) 30 September 2004 100 per day Carys Evans (Member) 30 September 2004 100 per day Gerallt Hughes 30 September 2004 100 per day Chris Neary 30 September 2004 100 per day Anne Morgan 30 September2004 100 per day Thelma Parry 30 September 2005 100 per day (c) Scottish Consumer Council Graeme Millar 30 April 2006 16,192 Heather Brash 31 October 2007 100 per day Ann Clark 31 May 2006 100 per day Neil Edwards 31 May 2006 100 per day John Hanlon 31 May 2006 100 per day Kay Blair 31 May 2008 100 per day Liz Breckinridge 31 May 2008 100 per day Peter Hunter 31 May 2008 100 per day Alan Hutton 31 May 2008 100 per day Adriene Kelbie 31 May 2008 100 per day Ashok Khindrea 31 May 2008 100 per day Isabelle Low 31 May 2008 100 per day Mukami McCrum 31 May 2008 100 per day Drew Ratter 31 May 2008 100 per day (d) The Hearing Aid Council Christopher Hughes (Chair) 31 August 2006 189.50 per day (max 50 days) Christine Pearce 31 December 2004 189.50 per day (max 25 days) Deepak Prasher 31 December 2004 189.50 per day (max 25 days) Victoria Skeels 31 December 2004 189.50 per day (max 25 days) Jonathan Ormerod 31 December 2004 189.50 per day (max 25 days) Maurice Hawthorne 31 December 2005 189.50 per day (max 25 days) Mark Geogevic 31 December 2005 189.50 per day (max 25 days) Margaret Hughes 31 December 2005 189.50 per day (max 25 days) Denise Yates 31 December 2005 189.50 per day (max 25 days) Huw Thomas 31 December 2006 189.50 per day (max 25 days) John Irwin 31 December 2006 189.50 per day (max 25 days) Peter Ormerod 31 December 2006 189.50 per day (max 25 days) Anthony Corcoran 31 December 2006 189.50 per day (max 25 days) (e) Gas and Electricity Consumer Council operation of the market. The latest JESS report was published on 12 November and copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House.