Britain warned last night that high energy prices could lead to factory closedowns in late autumn and winter. Power prices have surged amid worries that the country might not have enough power stations available to meet higher demand this winter, due to nuclear repairs and coal-fired plants being fitted with pollution controls. The warning comes from the Energy Intensive Users’ Group, which represents factories that use large amounts of gas and electricity. Director Jeremy Nicholson said base-load electricity prices are double what they were a year ago, pushing up costs at a time when many sectors are facing falling demand. He said he could not rule out factories mothballing operations to save money, adding: ‘There is additional anxiety on the supply side because of the number of power stations undergoing maintenance. There is not a huge margin for error if it is a hard winter.’ Although energy prices on world commodity markets are now falling, Nicholson said there was usually a time lag of a few months before they were passed onto customers. Last week, British Energy said that two of its nuclear reactors, at Hartlepool and Heysham, are unlikely to restart until early 2009 but four others should return in 2008.

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