11. 10. Plaid Cymru Debate: A National Energy Company

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:01 pm on 24 May 2017.

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Photo of David Melding David Melding Conservative 5:01, 24 May 2017

Can I start by being polite and commending Plaid Cymru’s initiative in using the new flexibility in Assembly resources to commission research projects? Generally, I think it’s a good idea and, in fairness, you’ve put your ideas out and we can have an excellent debate, I’m sure, on this proposal. So, I think we need more of this, and you deserve a serious response to your central suggestion.

For us, we won’t be supporting it for reasons I will indicate, but we certainly do share the aim for more efficient energy use at more competitive prices. It’s our view that this can be achieved without heavy Government intervention or nationalisation. I do note that the thrust of the Plaid Cymru recommendation is to have a sort of national company that’s bought into by local communities and local authorities, potentially. I suppose if something does emerge that is built up from the local direction and mirrors something like Glas Cymru, then there’s more feasibility for that. But I have to say that imposing this sort of structure, pushing the initiative and forcing it, is something we would be suspicious about.