Energy Prices Act 2022 (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026

Lord Whitehead Excerpts

Wednesday 10th June 2026 Grand Committee

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[Lord Whitehead]

That the Grand Committee do consider the Energy Prices Act 2022 (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026.

[The Minister of State, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (Lord Whitehead) (Lab)]

My Lords, these draft regulations were laid before the House on 16 March 2026 and consist of one of the briefest SIs that I have had the pleasure to introduce in this House. The SI consists of two clauses, one of which is a citation and commencement clause. The other one is a very straightforward amendment to Schedule 5 of the Energy Prices Act 2022, which amends the period to which certain powers in respect to Northern Ireland may be exercised from 26 months to six years. Therefore, this is a very brief SI, but I think it will be helpful to noble Lords to explain why this is being put forward today.

In the Autumn Budget on 26 November last year, the Chancellor announced changes we would be making to reduce costs on energy bills in Great Britain. We committed at that time to working with the Northern Ireland Executive if they chose to develop a comparable offer. These regulations show us delivering on that commitment.

In Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the energy bill changes rely on Energy Prices Act powers subject to different sunset provisions. On this occasion we are altering the sunset relevant in Northern Ireland to facilitate the Executive’s delivery. In Great Britain, the changes announced were to discontinue the energy company obligation home insulation scheme, and to transfer 75% of renewables obligation costs in respect of domestic supply to the Exchequer. The energy company obligation has never applied in Northern Ireland. As a result, the Executive’s comparable proposal to reduce bills relates only to the latter scheme. The Northern Ireland renewables obligation is a scheme to incentivise renewable electricity generation in Northern Ireland. As with the renewables obligation in GB, it closed to new applications in 2017.

Following ongoing official-level engagement, my colleague the Minister for Energy Consumers received a letter from the Minister for the Economy in Northern Ireland on 2 March. Minister Archibald asked that we take forward Energy Prices Act regulations to support her department’s powers to deliver. We laid these regulations two weeks later.

As noble Lords may know, the context here is that most energy policy issues are transferred matters for the Executive in Northern Ireland to decide on. We in the UK Parliament have a role in these regulations because the primary legislation was passed in 2022 when the Northern Ireland Assembly was not sitting. None the less, I should be clear that the powers we are ensuring that the Northern Ireland department can access relate to a transferred matter and are entirely for it to exercise. It will be for the Executive to announce the full details of the policy they are taking forward.

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[Lord Moynihan (Con)]

My Lords, this instrument underpins the measures that we have already debated. It creates no new powers and His Majesty’s Opposition are supportive of it. More broadly, as the Minister knows, we do not believe that the Government can lower the structural cost of energy for families and businesses in Britain simply by moving policy costs around from energy bills on to tax bills. But I accept that we have debated the content of the RO and the policy context in which this SI has been brought forward at some length already.

This measure is very specific to Northern Ireland. It is something of a surprise because it extends by six years from a date that has already passed, 3 April. So we are in an unusual position whereby this does not apply but is going to apply retrospectively. I regret that; it should have been brought back at a much earlier stage.

The questions asked by the noble Earl, Lord Russell, just now were very relevant. The Explanatory Memorandum specifically states:

“The UK Government is working with the Northern Ireland Executive as they consider developing a comparable offer”—


at least they know that that is what is intended—

“to the RO to Exchequer policy, and the exact design of this comparable offer has not yet been finalised”.

That makes it clear that we are pretty close to it. We are just short of the exact design.

It is useful for the Committee, I think, to hear from the Minister a bit more detail on the status of the discussions and the status of the project that is being proposed so that we are not simply writing a blank cheque. I accept that, elsewhere in the SI, there is an important recognition that this is clearly a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly, but, given that they have used the words “exact design”, it is incumbent on the Minister and the Government to provide details to Members of the Committee—not least Members from Northern Ireland—so that they can study them following this debate.

I appreciate that the EM goes on to say that this is an enabling measure and

“does not itself provide financial support or determine the design, timing or announcement of any scheme in Northern Ireland”.

However, we are already well on the road to a final proposal. My noble friend Lord Bew and the noble Earl, Lord Russell, focused on the timing and how long it will take. Given that we now know that the exact design of the comparable offer is yet to be finalised —we are clearly making very good progress—are we talking about six weeks or six months? Are we talking about a year? Why are we talking about six years, rather than three or 16, in the SI?

I would be very grateful if the Minister could give us clarity on the status of the negotiations with colleagues in the Northern Ireland Executive and on what the Northern Ireland Executive are thinking about in this context; after all, they have known about this since the Budget. I ask him to provide as much detail as possible so that Members who are interested in matters relating to Northern Ireland are well briefed. I say that with renewed emphasis today. Regrettably, yesterday evening, we had a debate in the Chamber in which there was real concern from Members from Northern Ireland—or Members with a particular interest in Northern Ireland; they happened to be from Northern Ireland as well. They were worried that Northern Ireland was a sort of afterthought and that the policy had not been properly designed in recognition of the fact that Northern Ireland is absolutely an inherent and important part of the United Kingdom.

There is a danger of a similar interpretation with this measure. Quickly coming to the House with an SI that recognises that the timing has now lapsed and that we need a new extension does not look good unless the Minister can demonstrate clearly that there has been detailed discussion of what exactly this policy is going to look like, with information about the design of the comparable offer given to the Committee and the House; I hope that the Minister will now be able to give that.

I am grateful to the Minister for introducing this SI. I hope that he will be able to provide much further information on it either today, in this Committee, or in writing.

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

I thank noble Lords for their useful contributions to this short debate. I hope I will be able to provide some of the detail that they were looking for on this measure, and particularly on the enhanced sunset clause that noble Lords are now considering. But, before I do that, I have not yet had an opportunity to welcome the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, back to his slightly amended place in this House, and to say how delighted I was to see his return. I look forward to the many occasions that are now possible for our convivial and constructive debates across the Chamber on the future of energy policy.