FORM 6-K SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 Report of Foreign Issuer Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 September 23, 2004 BRITISH ENERGY PLC (Registrant's name) 3 Redwood Crescent Peel Park East Kilbride G74 5PR Scotland (Address of principal executive offices) Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F. Form 20-F..X.. Form 40-F..... Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yes ..... No ..X.. If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): Exhibit Index The following document (bearing the exhibit number listed below) is furnished herewith and is made a part of this Report pursuant to the General Instructions for Form 6-K: Exhibit Description No. 1 RNS Announcement, re: Output Statement dated 23 September 2004 23 SEPTEMBER 2004 BRITISH ENERGY plc - OUTPUT STATEMENT A summary of net output from all of British Energy's power stations in August is given in the table below, together with comparative data for the previous financial year:- 2003/04 2004/05 August Year to Date August Year to Date Output Load Output Load Output Load Output Load (TWh) Factor (%) (TWh) Factor (TWh) Factor (TWh) Factor (%) (%) (%) UK Nuclear 5.37 75 27.55 78 4.39 62 24.19 69 UK Other 0.41 28 1.88 26 0.55 38 2.52 35 Planned Outages - A statutory outage on one unit at Torness was completed. - Off load refuelling was carried out on one unit at Dungeness B. - Low load refuelling was carried out on both units at Hinkley Point B and on one unit each at Hunterston B and Torness. - One generating unit at Hunterston B was shut down on 15 August to carry out planned work on the feed system. Boilers - One unit at Heysham 1 and one unit at Hartlepool remain shut down pending work to demonstrate the integrity of certain boilers. Output Forecast - The expected annual nuclear output for the year-ending 31 March 2005 will be given in the Listing Particulars which the Company is expecting to publish pursuant to the Agreed Restructuring. Contact: Andrew Dowler 020 7831 3113 (Media Enquiries) John Searles 01355 262202 (Investor Relations) Find this News Release on our web-site: www.british-energy.com SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. Date: September 23, 2004 BRITISH ENERGY PLC By:____John Searles____ Name: John Searles Title: Director - Investor Relations