The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee Inquiry and Report into the Electricity Sector "completely vindicates the concerns raised at Stormont by the Ulster Unionist Party before the Executive fell", UUP Economy Spokeperson Alan Chambers MLA has said.

Mr Chambers said: "The warnings we gave about the threat to security of electricity supply have been reiterated in the Report, which clearly identifies the need for new generating capacity within Northern Ireland.

"When we put forward and debated a motion on this subject at Stormont in November 2016, we faced a hostile reaction from the massed ranks of the then partners in the DUP/ Sinn Fein Executive, who accused us of scaremongering and worse. Where are those voices of complacency and denial now, when we have another Report which states we are heading to a situation where, if decisions are not made now, we will struggle to keep the lights on after 2021?

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"The problem is that we have had energy reports and recommendations before. Just one example was the Energy and Manufacturing Advisory Group (EMAG) report which contained 24 recommendations and was presented to the Minister at Stormont last April. Despite repeated questions, no official response has emerged from a Department embroiled in the RHI debacle. So we have had reports, we have had debates, but we have had no action from government and a vacuum where an energy policy for Northern Ireland should exist."

(CD/LM)