Member

Briefly, the new Drax contract has been mentioned as coming within the purview of the LCCC. I would just point out that the new contract halves the cost of the previous Drax contract and is a considerable saving to customers. Therefore, it also causes Drax to come in to produce power on the margins, rather than centrally in the system; there is a 27% cap in its operations. It is far more sustainable, with 100% sustainability in the fuel that is going into Drax, making sure that what goes into Drax is traceable and not from ancient forests and the other sources over which concern has been raised previously. So the new deal for Drax is much better than the old one. What noble Lords may say about Drax overall is perhaps a debate for another day, but this is certainly an efficient new contract that is now back within LCCC; of course, it will require proper management over the next period.