Hansard

Electricity Generating Costs

Volume 960: debated on Thursday 14 December 1978

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Mr. Robin F. Cook

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish in the Official Report a table for the costs per unit of electricity generated by the Central Electricity Generating Board and calculated on the same basis as the table published by the South of Scotland Electricity Board on page 8 of its annual report.

Mr. Eadie

The following table sets out the costs of generation from CEGB power stations calculated on the basis generally adopted by the CEGB and previously published in the Official Report, for example, in answer to the hon. Member for Honiton (Mr. Emery).—[Vol. 945, c. 674.]

p/kwh
1976–771977–78
Nuclear (Magnox)0·690·76
Coal-fired1·071·23
Oil-fired1·271·42
The figures are for stations commissioned in the previous 12 years and include:

  • (i) capital charges based on historic cost depreciation with interest at the average rate payable in the year of account by the CEGB applied to the written down capital expenditure.
  • (ii) fuel, including nuclear reprocessing costs.
  • (iii) other operating costs, including provision for decommissioning costs.

    • The generation costs for AGR stations are not included as these have not yet been in operation for a full year.

    Calculations of costs on a directly comparable basis to that of the South of Scotland Electricity Board are not immediately available, but I have asked the chairman of the CEGB to write to my hon. Friend.

    The above figures do not provide a guide to future investment decisions.