EI Chief Executive joins debate on phase out of coal

With coal fired power not feeding in to the UK’s grid for a record 76 hours on 24 April, EI Chief Executive Louise Kingham OBE FEI, joined the BBC News channel to discuss why that's good news for the UK’s transition to cleaner energy.

Having surpassed the UK grid’s previous 55-hour coal free record set just last week, the UK enjoyed several days continuous energy from non-coal sources, a symbolic record on the way to coal being removed entirely by 2025.

Speaking to BBC Business Reporter Rachel Horne on Afternoon Live, Louise stressed the need for a diverse energy mix that reduces coal consumption over time: ‘It’s all about balance… don’t forget we still have seven percent of coal that’s on the system overall’.

‘What we are looking to do over a longer period of time is move to cleaner forms of energy in the system and to also think about our role as consumers in using less energy in the first place’.

Louise was also questioned about security of energy supply, pointing to the benefit of using cleaner forms of energy, such as wind and solar power, that are indigenous to the UK.