6. Plaid Cymru Debate: Establishing a Publicly Owned Energy Company

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:09 pm on 6 June 2018.

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Photo of David Melding David Melding Conservative 4:09, 6 June 2018

Can I thank Plaid Cymru for bringing forward this debate? I think Simon ranged far and wide and certainly beyond the wording of the motion, but, I think, outlined this whole area of policy and the challenges and shortcomings he sees in it, and it was very interesting, some of which I sympathise with.

But can I just unequivocally put on record, as I did last year when we debated this very issue—that is not a criticism; this is really important and it's appropriate it's back here—we in the Welsh Conservatives, as indeed the Welsh Labour Government, despite what Mick Antoniw has just said, do not agree with point 3 and will therefore not be supporting the motion? But, we will support the motion should amendment 1 pass.

Can I start by saying that we do share the aim for more efficient energy use and more competitive prices? But it is our view that this can be achieved without heavy Government intervention or nationalisation. The extent of publicly owned networks—I'm not quite sure if Plaid do believe in nationalisation, I'm pretty sure Mick Antoniw does, so we need a bit more precision, I think, in this debate, in what is being proposed. But while it's an important area, and we need to get it right, I do believe that we're on the right path to achieving a solution and a balance that will require a suite of comprehensive measures.