Political Agenda this week, by Mathew Beech

“A recalibration of coal closures could be forced”

Energy secretary Amber Rudd must have thought she had put the coal debate to bed when, in her energy reset speech in November, she pledged to phase out all unabated coal by 2025.

Since then, there have been further setbacks to the Hinkley Point project and according to some reports, a change of heart at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc).

Press reports have suggested that those in 3 Whitehall Place are considering reneging – at least partially – on this promise and that partially abated coal generation could be continuing to generate electricity into the latter half of the next decade.

Decc responded with this hard-hitting statement:
“Unabated coal is the dirtiest, most polluting way of generating electricity. The government is absolutely committed to phasing out power production from unabated coal by 2025 and it is nonsense to suggest otherwise. We made this clear last year and nothing has changed.”

However, with Rudd saying on more than one occasion that “energy security has to be the number one priority”, the stance she has taken, and one that Decc has been at pains to reinforce, could be severely tested.

With coal plants closing, little or no new capacity coming online, the 2016/17 winter margins already deemed to be tight, and the realisation that National Grid has issued two notices of insufficient system margin (NISMs) in the past year, a recalibration of coal closures could be forced upon Rudd – or the unfortunate energy secretary dealing with a capacity crisis.