Warrington Borough Council is seeking urgent meetings with trade unions and senior management at SSE (Scottish and Southern Energy) following last week’s announcement of possible job losses at Fiddlers Ferry power station.
SSE is consulting on proposals to shut down three of the four units on site by April – a move that the Unite union says would cost around 270 jobs.
Warrington Council leader, Cllr Terry O’Neill, said: “The announcement by SSE last week regarding the possible ceasing of operations at Fiddlers Ferry came as a shock and surprise.
“We are seeking an urgent meeting with senior personnel at SSE to discuss the implications for Warrington employees, the risks to security of continued energy supplies, transport and other infrastructure issues, and the long-term future of the site.
“We will also seek to work with the site’s trade unions to understand the impact of the proposals and protect jobs and livelihoods.”
SSE stated last week that its decision was due to “continuing challenging economic and environmental conditions for coal”.
Last December Fiddlers Ferry failed to secure a contract to provide electricity in 2019/20 in the recent capacity market auction. Three of its four units did win a contract with the National Grid to provide back-up power for next winter.
1 Comment
What surprise? Government wants coal as fuel stopped and is promoting Chinese nuclear power stations so it was just a question of when.