asked Her Majesty's Government:
What forecasts they are able to make of gas-based generation of electricity by the years 2010 and 2020; and what percentage of United Kingdom households they expect to be heated by gas in these years.[HL4493]
This Government do not make forecasts of future electricity supply. However, the most recent projections of energy and carbon emissions(1), including energy White Paper proposals, suggest that the proportion of gas used in electricity generation in the UK is projected to supply 35 per cent to 38 per cent by 2010 and between 44 per cent to 59 per cent by 2020. This range reflects the uncertainty, expressed in the energy White Paper(2), on policy delivery. With respect to UK households heated by gas, the assumption built into the domestic sector gas demand is approximately 80 per cent of homes in 2010 and 2020. The majority of these homes will have gas central heating and a small proportion will not.
(1) Ref: http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file39580.pdf
(2) Ref: http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file39387.pdf