De liquidatie van de kolenmijnbouw in Limburg in het licht van het Nederlandse energiebeleid

Abstract

A unique feature of the termination of Netherlands coal mining for which there is no precedence is the planned and gradual run down of a complete industry, because developments in the energy market made continued economic exploitation of coal impossible. Moreover, the liquidation is being carried out rather quickly and in an area of very limited extend and is therefore creating unique problems in the search for new employment opportunities. As the state owns the largest coal mining enterprises, involvement by the government was unavoidable, the more so as the mines had to be closed down before they were technically depleted with the timing being set by the availability of cheaper replacing fuels. The author discusses all the reasons which lead to the decision to close down the mines and wonders whether in retrospect these reasons justified the policies followed. In 1965 it became apparent that solid fuels were losing their importance in the Netherlands supply of energy. It could be assumed that our steel industry would require less domestic coal, while power generation was increasingly being taken over by oil and natural gas. The competitive position of the Netherlands industry demanded the use of the cheapest possible source of energy. Even the mines' own consumption of coal for the generation of electricity and the manufacturing of coke and coke-gas could no longer be economically justified. In the meantime a significant expansion of crude oil refining capacity in the Netherlands was noticeable. Its input is subject to a certain risk - as it does in all of western Europe – of being interrupted. Groningen gas, however, could absorb satisfactorily this risk element which previously has been absorbed by the coal mining industry. The decline in the share of solid fuels in the energy market has been more rapid than had been forecasted. However, the Netherlands balance of payment has not suffered as the export value of natural gas exceeded the former export value of coal. Oil consumption has also increased but so has the export of refined products. The social aspects of the guiding policy in the liquidation process are summarized by the author as follows: a. Supported by the general re-industrialization process the state and privately owned mines are diversifying their activities. b. The high rate of industrial growth has lead to increased employment opportunities, even without the government's involvement. In retrospect it seems that the policies followed were generally successful, but it should be kept in mind that human relations were severely affected and that a few weak spots remain which are difficult to rectify. The state accepted a burden of N.fl. 1750 million (approx. US $ 500 million) to carry out a policy which had to be socially and economically acceptable. It is expected that sometime in the future the final outcome will be considered favourable mainly as a result of the splendid co-operation in many fields which one has witnessed so far.