Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Bridgen Excerpts

Thursday 16th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Charles Hendry]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for the assiduity with which he advocates the interests of the Humber region and the role it can play in that regard. I was pleased to meet him and some of my hon. Friends and people representing the South Humber gateway last week to enable me to understand the case they are putting forward in that respect. We are delighted that such companies as Siemens, GE and Mitsubishi have committed themselves to major multi-million pound investments in the offshore wind sector, and we understand that some of those announcements are due to be forthcoming early in the new year.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

16. What assessment he has made of the effects on the electricity grid of the weather of November and December 2010.

[The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Charles Hendry)]

Demand for electricity has been met in full by the normal functioning of the market during this cold period, when electricity demand has been approximately 5% to 10% higher than the seasonal norm. As is usual at this time of year, there have been a few localised disruptions. However, network operators have worked hard to ensure that those consumers affected were restored as soon as possible. We will continue to work with industry to monitor the situation over the rest of the winter.

[Andrew Bridgen]

I thank the Minister for that reassuring answer, but could he outline to the House what steps he and his Department are taking to ensure that there is sufficient capacity and supply in the system to cope with the predicted energy gap?

[Charles Hendry]

We are not anticipating an energy gap over this winter in electricity generation. I was at National Grid last week, and we are in daily contact. We are looking at the margins of supply, which remain robust. We are looking at the import capacity for gas. We are looking at the role that all those technologies can play. During these very cold periods, all the energy companies understand the need to keep their plant ready to generate, to ensure that demand can be met by supply.