Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Fabricant on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effect on the security of the electricity supply from the National Grid of the closure of Rugeley Power Station; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

We are clear that delivering energy security for our families and businesses is non-negotiable. We knew some old coal plants would likely be closing and we have already taken steps to protect supply for the coming winters, which took account of the possibility of further closures. Specifically, National Grid took into account the risk of coal plant closures in considering how much capacity to procure for next winter’s Contingency Balancing reserve.

Longer term, the Capacity Market will drive investment in new capacity as well as get the best out of our existing power stations. We will continue to work alongside National Grid and Ofgem to take whatever additional steps are necessary to protect our energy supply.