Coal chief calls for supply to be safeguarded for energy suppliers - 02/04/2009

The chief executive of UK Coal has called for supplies of the fossil fuel to be more actively safeguarded so that domestic and business energy supplies can be maintained.

According to the Daily Post, Jon Lloyd said the UK's coal supply needs to be considered more carefully considering Britain spent £3 billion importing the fossil fuel during 2008.

Around half the imports came from Russia, which caused tensions across Europe earlier this year when it cut off Ukraine's gas supply following a dispute over unpaid bills.

The incident affected millions of people across eastern Europe and prompted concerns regarding the future reliability of Russia as an energy provider.

David Williams, chairman of the Llandudno Business Club where Mr Lloyd spoke, commented to the paper: "It was an excellent address which was very well received by the members. It covered the various sources of energy available to business including coal, gas, nuclear and natural."

Many energy experts view coal as being an integral part of the UK's energy infrastructure for some time to come as nuclear regeneration, set to be led by French-owned energy supplier EDF, will take several years to establish.

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