Implications for the Electricity Industry Continuing ambitions to reduce polluting emissions and to improve air quality are influencing the nature of both electricity generation and electricity demand. The current strategies and investment plans of the generators are already aimed at significantly reducing emissions, and will continue to do so well into the new millennium. Meanwhile, innovative approaches to improving the efficiency of electricity use are being pioneered through the industry s Standards of Performance initiatives. Legislation to control waste is likely both to decrease the electricity industry s waste disposal options and to increase the costs of waste disposal. In future, therefore, a move away from landfill and towards recycling and incineration is anticipated.
Companies are likely to intensify their waste minimisation programmes.
This in turn could reduce the electricity industry s operational costs and improve its overall operating efficiency, as well as benefiting the environment. Proposals on environmental liability and contaminated land, in contrast, may lead to higher costs for the industry, in the form of increased insurance premiums and more expensive capital finance. The implementation of environmental legislation will encourage the development and use of cleaner technologies. This is likely to open up new markets for electricity, due to its cleanliness at point of use and its ability to be targeted efficiently in many applications. In many cases, fossil fuels can be replaced by electricity with a significant reduction in both costs and pollution, most notably in numerous industrial processes and in electric transport.