National Grid charges

Nick Brown (Scottish and Southern Energy) called on the sector executive to lobby for a change to the National Grid Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) charges.

He said charges had discriminated against generation in Scotland. They had contributed to the closure of one large thermal power station, Scottish Power’s Longannet, and SSE was currently reviewing the future of a second one, Peterhead. As well as the impact on members’ jobs, the generation margin in the UK was already at a record low. Delegates carried the motion.

Carbon capture and storage

Conference also agreed to instruct the sector executive to promote the value of carbon capture and storage technology.

Phil Garner (British Association of Colliery Management) said the technology offers a potential £30bn cut in the cost of meeting carbon emissions targets, a lifeline for members working in thermal generation and a potential export market for the UK. The UK had the right resources, skills and technology to do this.

“All options for our future energy supply should be preserved,” he said. CCS technology would help preserve this diversity of secure, affordable, low carbon sources, using indigenous fuels. He added: “We need a way to get a demonstration plant back on the agenda and a way of financing it before other countries overtake us.”

Balanced energy policy

Elinor Harrison (EDF Energy) moved a successful motion calling on Prospect to continue its excellent challenges to the government to achieve a balanced energy policy for the UK and ensure that new power stations are built. This was necessary to reduce reliance on overseas supplies as coal-fired and nuclear capacity closed.

Incentives for black start operation

Conference also backed a call from Craig Marshall (sector executive) to lobby government and the regulator Ofgem to ensure generators have the correct financial incentives to maintain and operate black start operation – the process of restoring an electric power station or a part of an electric grid to operation without relying on the external transmission network.

Marshall explained that there was a risk of brown or blackouts because of the lack of incentives for coal fired power stations. “It’s happening now in Scotland and it could happen in the rest of the UK unless we get some government control of the market.”

Photographer: Stafano Cagnoni