BRITAIN will face power cuts unless the government steps up plans to build more nuclear energy plants, Labour has warned.
Three planned giant generating stations which would have powered 17 million homes have been axed in the last six months.
Rex Features
And MPs fear a looming electricity shortage in the next few years unless the government fills the gap.
Official figures reveal that major infrastructure projects cancelled or blocked by the Tories would have generated enough energy to power three-quarters of British households.
In the last six months, the government has scrapped nuclear power plants earmarked for Moorside, Cumbria, Wylfa Newydd in Anglesey, and Oldbury, Gloucester.
Most of Britain’s remaining nuke stations are set to be closed in the next decade – with an energy gap feared if further investment is not secured.
Last summer, plans for the world’s first tidal lagoon power plant in Swansea Bay – which would have powered nearly 150,000 homes – were axed.
And the government’s ban on onshore wind is blocking nearly 800 shovel-ready onshore wind projects, which would have serviced three million homes a year.
Shadow energy secretary Rebecca Long Bailey said: “These figures show that the Tories risk failing in one of the first duties of any government – keeping the lights on.
“Ministers should come clean to the public about the gaping hole in their plans and what that means for our energy security.
“Labour has been consistent in its support for nuclear as part of our energy mix, calling on the government to take a public stake in new nuclear projects.”
She vowed to remove barriers to onshore wind and support new nuclear plants as part of a sustainable and secure energy mix – creating 400,000 jobs through a “green industrial revolution”.
A Conservative spokesman said: “The UK’s energy security is at its highest level in five years. Today and in the past, governments of all colours have understood they have a duty to ensure security of supply whilst protecting taxpayers and consumers.
“Jeremy Corbyn’s energy policies would saddle families with sky high energy bills by committing billions of pounds to renationalising vast swathes of the energy system – leaving families with nowhere to turn if things went wrong.
“Last week through our modern Industrial Strategy the government committed to a third of UK electricity being produced from offshore wind by 2030.”
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