Gary's views

Gary's weekly views

Each week an article by Gary has appeared in the Plympton Plymstock and Ivybridge News in South West Devon. The articles are published here

THE POWER STATION

Like a weed that refuses to lie down and die, the power station proposal for Langage, Plympton has reared its ugly head again. This time the story is that Centrica (British Gas) have acquired some kind of option in the project.

It is now 6 years since this unwelcome intruder darkened our door and it has taken various twists and turns ever since. The one constant has been the determined opposition of thousands of local people who do not want a power station on their doorstep. Who in their right minds would site such a monstrosity so close to where 45,000 people live, overlooking the rolling majesty of the South Hams? The benefits would be just £10 a year off our electricity bills and, when complete, no more than 40 full time jobs. Talk of an energy park employing 2000 people created by businesses from all over the country upping sticks and relocating to Plympton for lower electricity bills is pie in the sky.

I do not know any local resident who wants this power station. Even worse - it has taken six years to get to this point, preventing this land being developed for other businesses that could have generated hundreds of jobs for local youngsters.

Why have the sharp suits behind this proposal struggled to get the financial backing to develop this fiery furnace before now, given that the government granted them the licence several years ago? Simple – wholesale electricity prices have fallen in recent years and the project is probably not financially viable given the millions needed to build it.
But British Gas would be getting two bites of the cherry, making a profit on the gas consumed by the power station and on the electricity sold by it. That may make the numbers stack up. So is it still possible for local people to influence the outcome of this?

An interesting idea emerged over the weekend. What if enough of us write to British Gas informing them that on the very day they confirm that they are going ahead with this development we will immediately switch our gas consumption to one of the several competitors waiting in the wings? There are about fifteen thousand households in the Plympton area, more than enough to send a shiver of doubt into the boardroom discussions on this marginal project.

Do I sniff the start of a new campaign? Maybe people power will triumph after all.

posted by Nigel on Tuesday, May 04, 2004