Coal stocks and reserve energy capacity

Domestic coal production supplied resilience alongside commercial stores held by mines, power stations, and railway supply points. Some locations held a month or more of coal to meet contractual commitments despite disruptions. Those stocks protected the continuing supply of power, fuel, and train services. Operating with very small inventories under just-in-time logistics leaves less margin before a delivery failure interrupts activity. One proposed alternative for modern Britain would retain a working mine and nearby standby coal generation for emergencies, with coal gas another possible use of the resource. This is a conditional policy preference. The energy figures come from a table assembled and standardised from about five books, with responsibility for possible errors explicitly acknowledged.