An Era Is History as King Coal Nears Death

COAL HAS LONG HELD A CENTRAL PLACE IN BRITISH life. It powered the 19th century Industrial Revolution, heated homes, generated electricity and even caused the fog in London. In 1913 more than 1 million miners worked in 3,265 pits in Britain. But that era is history. In a stunning move, British Coal announced that it is closing 31 collieries and laying off 30,000 workers. By March 1993, all that will remain of the once powerful and proud industry will be 19 working pits employing fewer than 20,000 miners.

British Coal argues that it was forced into the cuts because its best customers, the electric-power companies, decided to abandon coal furnaces and convert to gas-operated generators. The electric utilities claim that gas will be cheaper and more environmentally friendly than coal.

But the case against the British coal industry as antiquated and disposable is a matter of considerable controversy. Britain has only 10 years of gas reserves, in contrast to 300 years of coal. In the future the nation may have to rely upon foreign gas supplies, which can be both unreliable and more expensive. Supporters of the coal industry argue that the cost of added scrubbers, which would reduce pollutants coming from the old coal-power stations, might be no more than that of building the new gas plants.

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CAPTION: THE PITS