Here is a brief history of the coal industry in the UK and where HouseFuel fits within such a fascinating industry.
Between the 1910s & early 1920s, the coal industry in the UK was at its peak. During this time, coal was the essential lifeblood of the country as all of our significant industries relied on coal power, and over one million people were employed in the coal industry then.
The decline of coal was rapid after WWII. During the 1950s-1960s, approximately one hundred coal mines closed, and in the 1980s, the government announced controversial plans to close 20 coal pits leading to the famous yearlong miner's strike. The strike was ultimately unsuccessful in its goal, and so more closures followed, particularly in the late 1990s when the mines became privatised under the new name 'British coal'. Production gradually decreased as competition from cheaper imported coal arose, and more environmentally friendly power initiatives became mainstream sounding the death knell for the coal mining industry in the UK.
According to the National Grid - In April 2017, Britain made history as the entire country went one day without using coal to generate electricity for the first time since the industrial revolution. This record was broken again in April 2018 as the country went 72 hours. This trend will only increase in the future as the country moves toward renewable energy, such as solar and wind, to keep in line with our bid to help the environment.
The UK’s deep pit coal mines have been closed since 2015. Just nine open-pit mines remain active, so now, coal in the UK is primarily imported for private consumers to burn as fuel in the home. At first glance, one may write off even attempting to reach these customers as surely, such a market cannot be very viable for very long. However, there is an opportunity in this market as these customers would require a lot of work in the home to replace their current appliances and install gas-burning or renewable energy ones. Therefore, the demand, although considerably smaller than in the past, still needs to be met and may need to for some considerable time.
This is why HouseFuel was created as an e-commerce platform to reach customers needing high-quality solid fuels across the country. Surprisingly to even ourselves, we have significantly increased our tonnage sales year on year over the past five years. We source our products from trusted suppliers and value our relationships with them and our hauliers so we can offer the best solid fuel products at incredible prices.
Are you looking for high-quality solid fuels for your home? Check out our products page. We offer a variety of coal depending on your appliance and smokeless fuel, ideal for those living in a smoke control zone.