I was looking for some company information on the internet and a search threw up an odd result.


It was a freedom of information request for the business rates paid in North Wales, scanning through it the highest amount paid in business rates was by the power stations, the next highest being the supermarkets.


Looking at it it’s easy to see that the power stations keep the whole of the local communities going, if they closed then there would not be the money to pay for the services that local people need. I know it is not quite that straightforward, as the Government collects business rates and redistributes them, but you get the gist.


Indeed I have talked to people who live in areas where power stations have closed down and they described it as ripping the heart out of the community because of the loss of well paid jobs on a par with the mines closing.


There is a lot riding on the back of electricity generation, it’s easy to say we can get rid of this and that or streamline the operation to reduce costs, but actually small communities may lose the funding for their services and indeed their jobs.

I was looking for some company information on the internet and a search threw up an odd result.


It was a freedom of information request for the business rates paid in North Wales, scanning through it the highest amount paid in business rates was by the power stations, the next highest being the supermarkets.


Looking at it it’s easy to see that the power stations keep the whole of the local communities going, if they closed then there would not be the money to pay for the services that local people need. I know it is not quite that straightforward, as the Government collects business rates and redistributes them, but you get the gist.


Indeed I have talked to people who live in areas where power stations have closed down and they described it as ripping the heart out of the community because of the loss of well paid jobs on a par with the mines closing.


There is a lot riding on the back of electricity generation, it’s easy to say we can get rid of this and that or streamline the operation to reduce costs, but actually small communities may lose the funding for their services and indeed their jobs.