Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his department has made of the case for extending the Common Tariff Obligation to apply across the whole of the United Kingdom, so that no comparable domestic consumer is charged higher electricity prices solely on the basis of their geographic location.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Standing charges vary by region because the costs of the transmission and distribution networks differ from place to place; a ‘common tariff’ for the most isolated areas would smooth out those higher local costs so customers there avoid very high prices, but it would also mean more of those costs are shared across the wider customer base, putting some upward pressure on prices elsewhere.
The Government knows that, for many consumers, too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges. We are working constructively with Ofgem to bring down the cost of standing charges.
Through its Cost Allocation and Recovery Review, Ofgem has also been reviewing how ‘fixed’ costs, which tend to be funded through standing charges, should be recovered in the future energy system.
The most recent update on this can be found here: Energy system cost allocation and recovery review - Ofgem - Citizen Space.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his department has made of the potential merits of equalising standing charges for electricity consumers across the United Kingdom.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Standing charges vary by region because the costs of the transmission and distribution networks differ from place to place; a ‘common tariff’ for the most isolated areas would smooth out those higher local costs so customers there avoid very high prices, but it would also mean more of those costs are shared across the wider customer base, putting some upward pressure on prices elsewhere.
The Government knows that, for many consumers, too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges. We are working constructively with Ofgem to bring down the cost of standing charges.
Through its Cost Allocation and Recovery Review, Ofgem has also been reviewing how ‘fixed’ costs, which tend to be funded through standing charges, should be recovered in the future energy system.
The most recent update on this can be found here: Energy system cost allocation and recovery review - Ofgem - Citizen Space.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his department has made of the potential merits of rebalancing policy costs currently levied on electricity bills across gas and electricity bills equally.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises that policy costs fall disproportionately on electricity bills and are taking forward work to ensure that prices reflect the cheaper wholesale price of clean energy.
On the distribution of costs between electricity and gas, the Government acted at the Autumn Budget to cut electricity costs in a way that makes this distribution fairer. We ended funding for the Energy Company Obligation scheme, as well as removing 75% of costs for the Renewables Obligation scheme from people’s energy bills.
The government also announced in April plans to go further and faster on delinking electricity and gas prices. We will consult later this year on arrangements to offer existing generators a fixed price Contract for Difference for the electricity they generate. In addition, the rate of the Electricity Generator Levy has been increased by 10% to respond to the high prices that generators are benefitting from due to the crisis in the Middle East.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his department has made of the potential merits of introducing a price cap on domestic heating oil for households that are not connected to the gas grid.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has announced its intention to introduce new consumer protections in the heating oil market. The Competition and Markets Authority is currently examining how the market is working for consumers, with its final report expected in June.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent estimate his Department has made of the amount of community benefits paid to a) the United Kingdom, b) Scotland and c) the Scottish Highlands in 2025.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Using the Scottish Register of Community Benefits and Shared Ownership, DESNZ estimates that the amount of community benefits paid in Scotland was approximately £30 million in 2025 of which £7 million was paid to communities in the Scottish Highlands. Community benefits were calculated by applying the £/MW benefit rate to the capacity of each operational project and aggregating the results by area.
We are unable to provide a figure for the United Kingdom as there is no UK-wide equivalent register. We recently consulted on changes to how community benefits are managed in the UK to ensure communities receive a fair benefit for hosting nationally important infrastructure. We will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent estimate his Department has made of the amount of community benefits paid to a) the United Kingdom, b) Scotland and c) the Scottish Highlands in 2025.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Oral Question of 24th March 2026, what steps his Department is taking to introduce a trial for free wind power for people living near energy infrastructure.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In line with statements made to Parliament on 24th March 2026, the Department is working with UKRI to launch a trial this winter.
The trial will test the removal of final consumption levies from increased consumer demand that responds to instances where there is abundant local renewable energy in grid constrained areas.
This will enable energy suppliers and flexibility service providers to offer periods of discounted power to households and businesses in such areas so that more of this power can be used.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of the total (a) energy and (b) water demands of all proposed AI data centres.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department’s published Energy and Emissions Projections include growth in power demand from computing services like data centres. To ensure a comprehensive view, the methodology projects at a broader sector level, not disaggregating specific estimates for data centres.
Water use comes under the remit of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Its Water Delivery Taskforce is building an evidence base of data centre water use across England. The Government encourages data centre developers to consider use of non-potable water, embed water efficiency or reuse in design, and contact their proposed water and wastewater supplier early in the planning process.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to ensure transparency from AI companies on the level of their energy usage.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Large AI companies in the UK must report energy and carbon use under The Streamlined Energy & Carbon Reporting (SECR) framework. Many companies also voluntarily report their Power Utilisation Effectiveness, which is the industry standard measure of efficiency of a data centre. Government is assessing the relevant technologies and metrics involved in its drive towards building a sustainable energy system as part of the AI Energy Council.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what guidance Ofgem provides to electricity network operators on timescales for rectifying infrastructure found to be operating above permitted noise levels.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Noise from electricity network infrastructure is not regulated by Ofgem. Ofgem’s remit covers the economic regulation of network operators and the protection of consumers.