Security of supply of affordable energy – BPF concerned Energy Department is “complacent”

BPF President, Philip Watkins, and Director-General, Peter Davis, have received a reply to their 29th January letter on Energy concerns from Edward Davey MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.
 
Shale Gas
 
BPF President, Philip Watkins, welcomed Mr Davey’s recognition in the letter of the potential for UK Shale Gas.  He said: “We are glad the Secretary of State has set up the new Office for Unconventional Gas and Oil to drive investment and exploitation”.
 
Complacency
 
But Mr Watkins was not reassured by Mr Davey’s letter that the UK Plastics Industry will have the certainty of future secure, affordable energy supplies to keep and attract investment in the UK, when 20% of our power generation will go off line by 2020. “I am worried about complacency here.  Mr Davey  says that the UK Gas Market is ‘one of the best functioning in the world’, but we still import over half our gas and have only 16 days storage.  On 23rd March our gas storage was only 10% full.  His letter does not show any great urgency in increasing gas storage”.
 
Nuclear
 
The Secretary of State writes that the first new nuclear power station Hinkley Point would come into operation in late 2019 and welcomed the role of Hitachi in developing more power stations.  Mr Watkins said: “Most people believe Hinkley Point will come into operation only in 2022 and last week it was reported that Hitachi is increasingly reluctant to build 4-6 new UK nuclear reactors unless Government improved its terms”.
 
Energy from Waste
 
Mr Davey’s letter does show the funds available for developing technologies such as Energy from Waste but he does not commit to provide, as the BPF asked for, leadership on EfW’s benefits.
 
Peter Davis, Director-General of the BPF, said “EfW could provide 11% of our UK energy needs from diverting unrecyclable waste from landfill.  It’s surprising they don’t attach much more urgency and leadership to developing more capacity”.
 
“With the risk of black-outs on the horizon the Secretary of State should be asking every month how much new power generation has been created? And how much has been closed down?”
 
ENDS
 
For all media enquiries, BPF logos and images, please contact Peter Davis on 0207 457 5003 or email: [email protected]  
 
Notes for Editors:
 
Attached BPF letter dated 29th January to Edward Davey MP
Attached Edward Davey MP Reply to BPF
 
The British Plastics Federation (BPF) is the UK trade association for the plastics industry – representing the whole supply chain including polymer producers, distributors, additives suppliers, machinery manufacturers, processors and recyclers.