E.ON plant plans raise fear of gas-dependent Britain

E.ON, the energy group that shelved plans for a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth, Kent, is drawing up plans to build a new gas-fired plant of the same size in Nottinghamshire, leading to fears that Britain will be over-reliant on imported natural gas.

An E.ON spokesman said that the group had begun a

It has also stoked concerns that Britain is becoming increasingly reliant on gas for electricity generation, even as supplies of the fuel from the North Sea are rapidly being depleted. This winter, Britain will have to import half its natural gas, against 5 per cent in 2004, when it ceased to be a net exporter for the first time.

Nick Campbell, energy analyst at Inenco, said: