Prospect negotiator Steve Thomas said: “While today’s news is devastating for the staff, it is not entirely unexpected given that bids by the station for National Grid’s Capacity Market Auction or Supplemental Balancing Reserve tenders were unsuccessful.

“Further attempts to secure a business case in one form or other have also proved fruitless so our focus is on supporting the 22 staff who remained on site when the plant was mothballed in March.”

Thomas said that the union will be working with E.ON to avoid compulsory redundancies by seeking voluntary severance or redeployment to nearby Cottam and Pipelines (Notts and Humberside) operations or as part of E.ON’s decommissioning ventures.

“But at national level, the closure means the loss of a further 900MW of capacity from the UK's power network when the margins are already at historically tight levels.

“More and more ageing plant is coming off line yet we are still waiting for decisions on funding for new low carbon generating capacity. Urgent action is needed to ensure we have a balanced energy policy for the future that meets the twin challenges of low-carbon generation and security of supply.”