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31 Mar 2009 : Column 1167W—continued
Natural Gas: Prices
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Romford of 23 February 2009, Official Report, column 305W, on natural gas: prices, if he will publish the data on (a) spot and (b) future wholesale gas prices collected during 2008. [266827]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The UK System Average Price is freely available on National Grid’s webpage. Forward wholesale price data for the UK and other European gas hubs, which are sourced from proprietary information providers, cannot be published under the terms of the licence agreements.
Data for US Henry Hub gas prices is available on a number of websites, including:
DECC also produces assumptions for future trends in fossil fuel wholesale prices (including gas) up to 2030 which are used for modelling and other analytical work. This information is available on the following website:
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Romford of 23 February 2009, Official Report, column 305W, on natural gas: prices, how many staff his Department employs to gather data on (a) spot and (b) future wholesale gas prices. [266828]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: One official is directly responsible, among other things, for collecting and compiling data on spot and forward UK, European and US gas prices.
A team of four DECC energy market economists is also responsible, among other things, for the production of the Department’s assumptions for future trends in fossil fuel wholesale prices (including gas), in consultation with other DECC colleagues.
Natural Gas: Storage
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the gas storage capacity of the UK was in each of the last 10-years. [266622]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The following table gives the working capacity of UK gas storage facilities at the start of October in each of the last 10-years.
| Capacity (billion cubic metres) | |
| Source: National Grid | |
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what gas storage facilities he expects to become operational in each of the next 10 years; and what the capacity of each is expected to be. [266623]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: National Grid's "Ten Year Statement", published in December 2008, identifies four commercial gas storage projects which are under development and scheduled for completion within the next five years.
| Storage under development( 1) | ||||
| Storage Project | Developer | Location | Space (bcm) | Gas Year |
| (1) Source National Grid | ||||
Another 13 gas storage projects listed in the "Ten Year Statement" are at various stages of development. They are expected to be completed within the next decade, but do not have definitive dates for when they will become operational.
More information can be found on the National Grid website:
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what obligations there are on gas supply companies to provide gas storage facilities. [266624]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: While there is no requirement on gas supply companies to provide gas storage facilities as such, licensed gas shippers (many of which are also suppliers) must balance the amount of gas that they take off the system with the amount that they put into it every 24 hours and face significant financial penalties for any imbalance.
Gas storage is one of the important tools available to gas shippers to achieve this daily balance. Other tools include supply flows from the North sea, pipeline imports or LNG as well as demand side arrangements where customers opt to reduce their gas consumption as prices increase.
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Public Appointments
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what the reasons are for the time taken by the recruitment process for a permanent Chief Executive for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; [266605]
(2) what steps he is taking to expedite the appointment of a permanent Chief Executive for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; [266606]
(3) how many candidates have been interviewed as part of the recruitment process for a permanent Chief Executive for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; [266607]
(4) whether a shortlist of candidates has been drawn up as part of the recruitment process for a permanent Chief Executive for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; [266608]
(5) what the cost has been of the recruitment process for a permanent Chief Executive for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; [266609]
(6) when he expects a permanent Chief Executive for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to take up the appointment. [266610]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The process to recruit a new Chief Executive for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which is the responsibility of the NDA Board under the Energy Act 2004, is ongoing and the NDA hopes to conclude the process in the near future. Inquiries about the detail of the process should be directed to the NDA.
Nuclear Liabilities Fund
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what the (a) final severance package and (b) pension arrangements were for the previous Chief Executive of the Nuclear Liabilities Fund; [267064]
(2) what the annual salary of the Chief Executive of the Nuclear Liabilities Fund was in each of the last 10-years. [267069]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Nuclear Liabilities Fund does not have a chief executive. The directors are the sole representatives of the organisation. The published accounts of the fund are available from its registered offices at 16 Rothesay Place, Edinburgh EH3 7SQ.
Nuclear Power Stations: Decommissioning
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent estimate of the cost of decommissioning the Hunterston A nuclear power station is; and when the site is expected to become available for alternative use. [265948]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The most recent estimate of the cost of decommissioning Hunterston A nuclear power station (£667 million discounted) is set out in the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's annual report and accounts for 2007-08. The site is not expected to be available for alternative use until after decommissioning is completed, which the NDA currently estimate will be 2080.
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent estimate of the cost of decommissioning the Chapelcross nuclear power station is; and when the site is expected to become available for alternative use. [265949]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The most recent estimate of the cost of decommissioning Chapelcross nuclear power station (£775 million discounted) is set out in the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's annual report and accounts 2007-08. The site is not expected to be available for alternative use until after decommissioning is completed, which the NDA currently estimate will be 2095.
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent estimate of the cost of decommissioning Dounreay nuclear power station is; and when the site is expected to become available for alternative use. [265950]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The most recent estimate of the cost of decommissioning the Dounreay nuclear site (£2,410 million discounted) is set out in the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s annual report and accounts 2007-08. It is possible that areas of the site will be available for alternative use following achievement of the interim end state in 2025, subject to appropriate safety and environmental clearance.
Nuclear Trust
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many staff in his Department are engaged in work arising from his Department's interest in the Nuclear Trust. [266714]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: While a number of staff in my Department, and in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, are engaged in work arising from my Department's interest in the Nuclear Trust, none are engaged on this full-time, and in total the amount of work amounts to less than the equivalent of one full-time post.
Power Stations: EC Action
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the likely effects on numbers of power stations of implementation of the EU Large Combustion Plants Directive in each of the next 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [267008]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
Under the Large Combustion Plants Directive (LCPD) nine ‘opted out’ coal and oil-fired plants are required to close by the end of 2015, or when they have used up their quota of 20,000 running
hours, whichever is sooner. These power stations have a combined capacity of approximately 12 GW (8.0 GW coal and 4 GW oil).
The rate at which these opted out power stations use their quota of 20,000 running hours is a commercial decision for the management of the affected plants. It is therefore not possible to say exactly when the affected power stations will close.
Public Opinion
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much has been spent by (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies on (i) opinion polling, (ii) focus groups and (iii) other forms of market research since its inception; what such surveys have been commissioned; and what the purpose is of each. [261276]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department (a) has spent £8,788 on (ii) focus groups, and a total of £177,161 on (iii) other forms of market research since its inception. (ii) refers to a round of creative development research to test the efficacy of ‘DIY’ as a key message to encourage home insulation, as part of the Act On CO2 marketing campaign. (iii) accounts for the combined costs of October 2008 to March 2009 costs for our ongoing campaign tracking survey which assesses awareness, understanding and impact on behaviour change. It also accounts for a separate piece of research to assess usability and areas of improvement for the Act On CO2 website.
This information is not held centrally for agencies or non-departmental public bodies, and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.
Renewable Energy
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to paragraph 4.5.20 of the UK Renewable Energy Strategy Consultation, what assessment he has made of the likely effects on levels of employment in the fossil fuel sector of the implementation of the proposed measures to increase the relative costs of non-renewable heating. [263991]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: No estimates have yet been made.
Sellafield: Safety
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment his Department has made of safety procedures at Sellafield. [266786]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the statutory safety regulator for the Sellafield site. With regard to nuclear safety, HSE's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) continually undertakes regular inspections and assessments of safety procedures at Sellafield. These are undertaken by NII to satisfy itself that Sellafield Ltd, the holder of the nuclear site licence, complies with the conditions attached to that licence, as well as more general safety duties.
Sellafield: Security
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the Prime Minister’s speech on nuclear energy on 17 March 2009, how the £70 million spent on security at Sellafield break down between budget headings since 2003; and what materials will be stored in the proposed storage facility. [265593]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Following the events of 9/11 a comprehensive review was carried out on the security and emergency arrangements at the Sellafield site. The outcome of the review was a programme of enhancements, which included projects on: Risk Reduction; for enhanced physical security arrangements for the more sensitive facilities, Risk Mitigation; for enhanced contingency planning, which included the provision of aircraft style Fire Tenders and supporting equipment, and Risk Removal; for the consolidation of material, which entailed the transfer of nuclear material to more robust modern stores.
The approximate breakdown of the costs associated with these projects is as follows:
The Risk Reduction projects account for 40 per cent. of the costs;
The Risk Mitigation projects account for 20 per cent.; and
The Risk Removal projects account for 40 per cent.
The storage facility mentioned is the Sellafield Product Residue Store which will be used for the safe and secure storage of plutonium bearing materials and residues.
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