Ruddy Hell

                       Drax must go if we are to live in a carbon free, shivering job free island

Britain’s energy secretary, Amber Rudd, seems determined to make the case for keeping women out of politics unassailable.

According to the Telegraph she’s unveiling her new energy strategy for Britain in a speech today. The main plank of that strategy will be to close down the British economy. Sorry, that’s the likely result. No, apparently the plan is to close down Britain’s 12 remaining coal fired power stations by 2025. According to Amber it is “perverse” that Britain still generates 29% of its electricity with the “dirtiest fossil fuel”.

Now don’t let the fall in Britain’s spare generating capacity from 17% in 2011 to 4% now worry you. Amber is convinced that her announcement today will be enough in itself to spur the energy sector to pull its finger out and get building a whole fleet of shiny new gas fired power stations to replace the lost capacity.

         

True she did tell BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that she did not know how many new gas fired plants would be needed, but nevertheless confidently stated that the “clear signal” that coal plants would be shut down would spur investment in new gas.

On this question though I (and anybody who has read a newspaper recently) have something of an advantage over Ms Rudd. In that place called reality there is in fact just one gas plant  in the pipeline and even that is far from certain because the developers haven’t been able to raise the funds needed to build it. But even if there were a dozen plans for new gas fired power stations we could hardly expect much by way of power from them for at least a decade.

But progress on decarbonizing the economy waits for nobody. Consequently, three of our coal fired power stations are slated to close by next March, with a fourth is to be partially shut down. Apparently Amber knows something we don’t. Does that winsome smile conceal secret information from the Met Office that we can expect an exceptionally sunny (even at night) … and windy spring so boosting the output of renewables?

Or perhaps the recent closure of the Redcar steelworks and the Michelin plant in Northern Ireland are not isolated misfortunes of British industry but part of an ingenious plan to reduce demand for electricity and so keep the lights on. This possibility though is clearly inconceivable. After all no British government would consciously plan to destroy the nation’s productive heart when we are already running a £10bn trade deficit a month. The only reason I mention this bonkers notion is that it happens to fit all the available facts.

But failing an exceptionally sunny (even at night) and rainy future and supposing that some scattered factories survive surely Amber must have some other source of power in mind. It’s inconceivable that the energy secretary would close down all those coal plants without the slightest idea where future power supplies will come from. Isn’t it?

My only doubt on this point is based on actual British government policy for at least the last two decades.

Email to Amber:

Copy to PM, Chancellor

Please consider the following.

• ·        If you close those coal plants the lights will go out.

• ·        We must compete against countries that are far less scrupulous about how they generate power. If you close down cheap generating capacity more factories will close (voters will lose their jobs).

• ·        The world won’t always fund our £10bn monthly trade deficit.

• ·        First build the gas-fired power stations then close the coal ones.

Ruddy hell! The power’s been cut. Doesn’t look like she’ll get my email. But while she’s waiting in the dark, there is at least a chance that she will get the message. Isn’t there?