Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the increase in energy costs for those living in rural areas; and what plans they have to alleviate those additional costs.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government believes it is essential that consumers of liquified petroleum gas and heating oil receive a fair deal. A competitive market allows consumers of both fuels to shop around for the best price for each delivery. The Government believes this provides the best long-term guarantee of low prices.
Support is available to eligible off-grid households through the Warm Home Discount, the Winter Fuel Payment and the Cold Weather Payment.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect people who have lost power due to Storm Arwen to be reconnected; and whether a review has been undertaken of communication between (1) Government, (2) power distribution companies, and (3) members of the public about energy supply issues.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The impacts of Storm Arwen were very unusual. All customers that lost their electricity supply were restored by the 8th December.
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has commissioned a post-incident review into Storm Arwen to identify lessons and best practice for communications, resourcing and system resilience. This will include a review of communications between Government, power distribution companies and the public.
As the independent regulator for energy, Ofgem has also announced it will undertake a review into the impact of Storm Arwen. This will focus on the role of the network companies in maintaining the resilience of the system and their emergency response, including their communications with customers.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the process for claiming compensation for losses from power outages caused by Storm Arwen for (1) households, and (2) businesses.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem, the independent regulator for the UK’s energy networks, sets service levels which Distribution Network Operators must meet, with rules on how and when compensation payments are issued to consumers if the standards are not met. This is set out in the Quality of Service Guaranteed Standards. Customers should contact their Electricity Distribution Network Operator to claim any compensation that they are entitled to.
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has written to Ofgem and the Electricity Distribution Network Operators to set an expectation that compensation should be paid as soon as possible given the length of the disruption to power supplies.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the resilience of overhead power cables and the case for moving these wires underground.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has commissioned a post-incident review into Storm Arwen to identify lessons and best practice for system resilience, including physical infrastructure, as well as communications, resourcing.
As the independent regulator for energy, Ofgem has also announced a review into the impact of Storm Arwen. This will focus on the role of the network companies in maintaining resilience of the system, which includes physical infrastructure, and their emergency response.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the reduced supply of polypropylene, (2) the increased price level of polypropylene, and (3) the impact this will have on supplies for medical use.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
BEIS officials are in regular contact with the British Plastics Federation (BPF) who have informed them that there are global pressures affecting the demand and supply for some plastics polymers including polypropylene. These pressures are currently shared with a number of different materials sectors.
The BPF regularly surveys its members on key issues and have passed on information outlining that these pressures are due to a variety of issues including the current pandemic and some instances of extreme weather that has affected production. Officials will continue to work with the sector and with other government departments to monitor the effects of such issues, especially if they appear to have an impact on vital supplies of products that are needed for medical use.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to permit greater coal imports for the UK’s heritage market should the UK’s coal industry fail to meet the demands of that market.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In line with our Net Zero target, the Government is committed to phasing out unabated coal-fired power generation by 2025, and is consulting on moving this date forward to 2024. This policy applies to coal-fired power stations only – it does not apply to other coal consumers such as heritage railways, or to domestic coal mines. Companies do not require permission from the Government to import coal; the sourcing of coal for use in heritage railways and other industries is a private commercial decision for the companies involved.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the restrictions put in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic on (1) the income of businesses working in, and (2) jobs related to, the night-time economy; and what steps they are taking to address any such impact.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government has worked closely with the hospitality sector, including those operating in the night-time economy, to understand and mitigate the impact of the pandemic on their businesses.
Night-time economy businesses have been able to benefit from government support, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, government-backed loans, Local Restrictions Support Grants, additional funding provided to Local Authorities to support businesses and the Cultural Relief Fund.
On 5 January, when the new national lockdown began, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a one-off top up grant for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the spring. A £594 million discretionary fund has also been made available to support other impacted businesses.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that electricity generated by waste-to-energy facilities will be used to the benefit of the local community closest to where the electricity is generated.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Local communities are already able to benefit from the sale of electricity from Energy from Waste (EfW) plants in those instances where the local authority has made a provision to retain revenue from the sale when tendering a waste processing contract.
For EfW plants that utilise combined heat and power (CHP) technologies the local area can also benefit from the supply of low carbon heat, either via a heat network to heat homes and commercial premises or by direct connection to an industrial site to help incentivise businesses.
The Government is supporting EfW-based networks through its £320m Heat Network Investment Project and from 2022 an additional £270m will be available through the Green Heat Network Fund.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what infrastructure they plan to deploy to transmit the electricity generated from renewables both onshore and offshore to the national grid; and whether they plan to exclude the use of overhead powerlines for that purpose.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Regulation of the electricity network is a matter for Ofgem as the independent regulator. It is the responsibility of network companies to provide the infrastructure required to transmit electricity generated from renewables and they do this according to the framework set out by Ofgem through the price control. A number of methods can be used to transfer energy to transmission and distribution systems, including overhead powerlines. The choice of which method to use depends on a range of factors, including technical assessments, environmental impacts and costs.
The Offshore Transmission Network Review is currently considering how best to connect offshore renewable energy in the most efficient way, with a view to finding the appropriate balance between environmental, social and economic costs.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what infrastructure is required to transfer energy from battery storage to the National Grid; and whether pylons form part of that infrastructure.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
A number of methods can be used to transfer energy from battery storage facilities to transmission and distribution systems. The choice of which method to use (undergrounding or overgrounding) depends on a range of factors, including technical assessments, environmental impacts and costs.
Battery storage is often connected at the distribution network rather than national grid transmission level, and as it is often located close to existing grid supply points requirements for additional pylons are reduced. Any proposals for the use of pylons will be subject to careful consideration through the planning regime, taking account of the views of local people and other relevant stakeholders.