Energy: Electricity Supply

Lord O'Neill of Clackmannan Excerpts

Monday 29th July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, as I have said on a number of occasions at the Dispatch Box, the Government have taken very seriously the point that we need to ensure a diverse source of supply of energy. Among them, of course, are the renewable sector and nuclear.

[Lord O'Neill of Clackmannan]

My Lords, in the nuclear sector, will the Minister care to tell us how far we have got in the negotiation of a strike price? It was suggested some time ago that EDF was in a mood of cautious pessimism. Are we moving towards cautious optimism or is it just stalemate, as it has been for the last year and a half?

[Baroness Verma]

As the noble Lord knows, I am a person of great optimism and the negotiations are ongoing. We should be optimistic about what this country can offer for nuclear and for renewables.