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150 jobs at risk as Rugeley Power Station announces closure

Rugeley Power station will close this summer with the loss of 150 jobs, French owner Engie has revealed in a shock announcement.

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Government plans to phase out fossil fuel had meant the power station, which has towered over the town for half a century, was on borrowed time.

But the speed of the decision from Engie has shocked the local community.

Today's announcement by Engie is really disappointing and a major blow to the Rugeley community and, most particularly, the 150 people that work at Rugeley B. My top and immediate priority is to provide support for the Power Station's employees and their families, ensuring these workers get all the support and assistance that they need at this very difficult time.

The future of the site is unknown at this point but I hope that we can create new jobs with major industry in our town.

I have held urgent talks today with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Amber Rudd MP and have called on the government to:

  • · Provide a package of support to re-train staff and assist them in finding new jobs

  • · Provide financial support to decontaminate the site on closure so that it can be redeveloped as quickly as possible

  • · Explore the feasibility of a replacement gas power station going on the site

  • · Provide financial support, such as designation as an Enterprise Zone, to support the redevelopment of the site to attract new industries and businesses to Rugeley in order to create new jobs.

I have asked to visit the Power Station later this week to meet with employees and management and also asked to be kept updated during the course of the consultation. I hope we can all come together to support the workers and families affected by this announcement and show everyone how strong the Rugeley community is.

Cannock Chase MP Amanda Milling said: "Today's announcement by Engie is really disappointing and a major blow to the Rugeley community and, most particularly, the 150 people that work at Rugeley B."

The MP said she had held urgent talks yesterday with Energy Secretary Amber Rudd and was calling for a retraining package for staff, help to find new jobs and financial aid to decontaminate the site for redevelopment.

"The future of the site is unknown at this point but I hope that we can create new jobs with major industry in our town," she said.

Amanda Milling said she had also asked to visit the power station later this week to meet with workers and management.

The Government announced in November that all coal power plants which do not have technology to capture their carbon emissions would be shut by 2025.

Rugeley B doesn't have carbon capture technology. Instead it uses a flue gas desulpherisation plant, or FGD, to remove sulphur dioxide.

Power generator Engie, formerly GDF Suez, has the early closure on "the deterioration in market conditions for UK coal-fired power generation".

The power station is now expected to cease market operations by the early summer.

Around 150 jobs are expected to be lost, although Engie said this was subject to the outcome of an employee

consultation exercise, and any further discussions with government bodies.

David Alcock, chief executive of Engie's energy infrastructure division in the UK, said: "It is with deep regret that we have had to make this decision at Rugeley.

"Our priority now is to support the employees and help them through this period. We implemented a number of changes at Rugeley a year ago in order to help maintain operations at the site but a combination of falling prices and the impact of various market changes has now made this unviable.

"We will of course keep all options for the power station under review, and will maintain dialogue with all stakeholders as we proceed with the employee consultation process. I would personally like to thank everyone at Rugeley for their contribution to our business and for their loyal service to the power station."

Engie says it try to identify redeployment opportunities elsewhere across the business. A number of ongoing roles are expected to be required to support decommissioning and redevelopment of the site.

The company said: "Unfortunately market conditions for UK coal plant have deteriorated rapidly in recent years, as a result of a continued fall in power prices on the back of commodity market decline, and increases in carbon costs.

"Under such conditions, there is no prospect of the power station recovering its future operating costs."

Rugeley Power Station is jointly owned by Engie (75%) and Mitsui & Co (25%). It can provide enough electricity to power one million homes and is one of the most flexible and efficient coal-fired stations in the UK.

The station is also known as Rugeley B and has been in operation since 1970. Rugeley A station, built on the same site back in the 1950s, was decommissioned in 1996.

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