Fuel used in electricity generation by major UK producers fell 8.5% in the second quarter as increased nuclear usage was offset by a stronger decline in coal burn, the UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change said Thursday.
According to DECC documents, fuels used in power generation fell to 27.9 million mt of oil equivalent in the quarter, down from 30.48 million mtoe in the year-ago quarter.
Coal use fell by 23% to 5.26 million mtoe, while nuclear rose 13% to 3.82 million mtoe. Gas, on the other hand, remained unchanged on the year at 3.70 million mtoe, DECC said.
During the same quarter, the UK's total electricity consumption also dropped on the year to 73.38 TWh due to warmer-than-expected weather conditions. This was a 3.4% fall from Q2 2013 when consumption stood at 75.98 TWh, the DECC documents showed.
The average temperature was 1.9 degrees Celsius warmer in the three months to June compared with the same period last year, DECC said.
Furthermore, DECC said total power sales fell 3.1% in the three months to June, with domestic sales down 5.9% and sales to other consumers, including the commercial sector, down 5.2% on the year.
However, sales to the industrial sector in the second quarter rose 2.3% year on year.
