Blackouts 'to be the norm' if power switch goes ahead
By Edmund Conway (Filed: 17/11/2003)

Britain faces the prospect of regular blackouts and more than triple its
current electricity prices if the Government goes ahead with its latest
plans for UK power stations, says the Adam Smith Institute.

Switching power generation from coal and nuclear to gas and renewable
sources will leave the country too dependent on imported supplies and the
unpredictable elements, says the report by Professor Michael Laughton, which
is published by the think tank today.

Prof Laughton, an expert on alternative energy, said yesterday he is certain
that if the Government's energy policy goes ahead the UK's electricity
network will become prone to blackouts within 10 years. Recent rises in the
price of gas will also be dwarfed in comparison with prices of renewable
energy, which will be three and half times the price of the coal or nuclear
alternative.

"Renewable sources are unreliable and need some kind of a back-up from coal
or - preferably - nuclear plants," he said. "Over-dependence on gas will
significantly raise the risk of supply interruption, price instability and
economic damage."

Prof Laughton said that with the current generation of nuclear power
stations nearing their shut-down dates, it was essential at least to plan
building replacements to keep Britain's power systems independent.

"It will take at least 10 years to get a new nuclear power station up and
running, by which time most of our current power stations will be out of
action," he said.