Ed Miliband has claimed a Labour government would "not have got to the point" of keeping two coal-fired power stations in Nottinghamshire on standby this winter. Agreements were struck last year with the operators of power stations in West Burton and Ratcliffe-on-Soar in what the Government said was a move to provide "additional back-up electricity" if it was needed.
There are three coal-fired power stations that are still active in the UK, with the Ratcliffe site due to close at the end of September 2024. As part of its decommissioning plans, one of its units was due to close last September but it will now stay operational until at least the end of March.
Two of the units at the West Burton A Power Station near Retford also remained available after they were originally set to close last year. On a visit to Mansfield, Ed Miliband suggested a Labour government would not have got to the stage of needing to strike such agreements with the power station operators.
