Energy Bill Relief Scheme Regulations 2022

Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown Excerpts

Wednesday 16th November 2022 Grand Committee

In response to the noble Baroness, Lady Hoey, who asked about the substantial differences between the Northern Ireland and Great Britain schemes, they are essentially similar, but the Northern Ireland scheme’s delivery approach diverges slightly from GB’s in that it requires suppliers in Northern Ireland to abide by obligations in the regulations enforced by the Northern Ireland utility regulator, UREGNI—I am sure the noble Baroness is more familiar with that than I am. The regulations reflect this and the role of the Northern Ireland utility regulator in enforcing the schemes. There are a number of other technical differences, including an additional contract type, the day ahead index price contract, and there is an extra discount recovery process in Chapter 4 to prevent a Northern Irish recipient of supply eligible for the EBRS NI from then passing on that reduction to an end user in the Republic—which I am sure is something the noble Baroness would strongly support.

[Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (DUP)]

I listened to what the Minister said and return to a point raised by the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh. Do I take from the Minister’s remarks that there is going to be a review after the winter period that is covered by the present legislation? There are many small businesses scattered across the community in Northern Ireland that are totally dependent on electricity and have therefore met this volatility in energy prices. It is hard for them to plan for the future without knowledge of where we will go after the short period covered here. How long does the Minister think the review will take, because these businesses certainly need to plan for the future?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

The noble Lord makes a very good point. As I said, we will conduct a review as soon as possible with the aim that it will be published before the end of the year. That will inform businesses of where we hope to go with the scheme after its expiry in April. That applies not just to businesses in Northern Ireland but to small businesses across the whole United Kingdom.

In conclusion, the Government remain committed to ensuring that consumers receive help with the rising cost of living and with energy costs. These regulations are vital to ensuring that support is delivered this coming winter. I commend this draft instrument to the Committee.