SELBY MP John Grogan is calling on Drax Power Station to scrap controversial plans to burn petcoke following news that its financial situation has been secured.

Mr Grogan has written to station manager Garry Levesley, urging him to reconsider the application to the Environment Agency to trial-burn petcoke.

He says that he now believes the circumstances no longer support it.

In the letter, Mr Grogan argues

Problems with Drax's Flue Gas Desulphurisation plant would undermine confidence in safely burning petcoke

The price of petcoke is rising

Petcoke is not needed for Drax to get a high load factor and use the plant intensively

Burning petcoke commercially was always only a short-term option.

Mr Grogan congratulates Mr Levesley on last week's announcement of an agreement with creditors.

But he states: "As a friend of Drax, I would ask for you to consider whether the pursuit of the application to burn Petcoke is not now really a distraction from the pursuit of more important arguments such as the need to use FGD stations with all their environmental advantages to the full."

AES Drax said today it would review the points raised by Mr Grogan and reply to him within the next few days.

"The letter is written as 'a friend of Drax' and we appreciate the spirit in which it is written," said a spokesman for the company.

The Environment Agency is continuing to process the power station's application.

A spokesman said: "We are continuing with the decision-making process until we are informed by Drax that it wishes to withdraw."

Updated: 12:37 Wednesday, July 09, 2003