IT IS hardly likely that the government's halt on the so-called "dash for gas" in electricity generation - by blocking the construction of more cheap gas-fired power stations - will do anything for Britain's hard-pressed and shrunken coal industry in the short term.
But, as a strategic step, it is correct.
Too much reliance on gas and mined imports has not only already decimated British coal as an industry, it has jeopardised it as a vital energy resource.
The spate of pit closures over the past 15 years and the threat of new ones mean that much less of Britain's vast coal reserves is accessible and hundreds of years' worth have been thrown away.
The long-term aim of protecting the future of a vital resource must be served - for the day when the gas runs out.
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