Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February to Question 29155 on Energy Resilience, when the robust plans to mitigate the impacts of a gas or electricity disruption were last updated.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The National Emergency Plan for Downstream Gas and Electricity sets out the arrangements for the safe and effective management of downstream gas or electricity disruption. The National Emergency Plan for Downstream Gas and Electricity was last updated in July 2023 and is expected to be updated again this year.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February to Question 29770 on Chinese manufacturing, whether major energy infrastructure including wind turbines are categorised as critical national infrastructure when they are procured from foreign countries.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The designation of sites, systems and assets that make up the UK energy sector as Critical National Infrastructure is based on the extent that the loss, damage or disruption of that infrastructure has a major detrimental impact on the availability, integrity or delivery of the essential services of the UK energy system. This approach to identifying Critical National Infrastructure means that we assess all infrastructure, regardless of its ownership.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of redistributing green levies and surcharges to help increase energy affordability.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to ensuring a fair and affordable transition to Net Zero while considering the impact of policy costs on all energy consumers. Consumer energy bills are a vital tool to leverage private sector investment to support our critical goals to decarbonise the energy market whilst contributing to economic growth. Policy costs, or levies, fund essential schemes that have delivered significant benefits, including increasing renewable generation capacity and reducing reliance on fossil fuels. The Renewables Obligation and the Feed-in Tariffs schemes are now closed to new applications but have brought forward the successful renewable electricity sector that we see today in the UK.
The Department keeps the aggregate impact of these policies under review.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of Chinese manufacturing in delivering the Government's Clean Power 2030 goal.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As set out in the Integrated Review Refresh, a positive trading relationship benefits both the UK and China, and we continue to recognise the importance of trade and investment from China where it is safe, reciprocal and mutually beneficial.
The Government works closely with industry to maintain a detailed picture of foreign involvement in critical national infrastructure. Foreign involvement in critical national infrastructure undergoes the highest levels of scrutiny, with the government and industry working alongside each other to monitor and mitigate the security risks in the energy sector and its supply chain.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of (a) disruption to and (b) interference with interconnectors on the UK's energy (i) security and (ii) resilience.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero is working across Whitehall and with energy owners, operators, and regulators to ensure that interconnectors are proportionately protected against hazards and malicious threats. Great Britain has a highly resilient and diverse energy network, and we are confident that the gas and electricity system operators have the tools they need to effectively balance supply and demand in a wide range of scenarios. This includes ensuring robust plans are in place to mitigate the impacts of a gas or electricity disruption as far as possible, in the event that they occur.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had recent discussions with his EU counterparts on linking the UK and EU emissions trading schemes.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero engages regularly with international counterparts on a number of issues.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his Department's timetable is for lowering energy bills for people in Bromsgrove constituency, in the context of the Great British Energy Bill.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy is a key part of the government's mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. This is a sustainable, long-term plan to protect billpayers. In an unstable world, the only way to guarantee our energy security and protect billpayers permanently is to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels and towards homegrown clean energy.
We are progressing the Great British Energy Bill through Parliament. By putting the company on a statutory footing and using the £100 million of capital funding announced at Autumn Budget, Great British Energy will be able to hit the ground running next year.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of multiple solar farms on the local environment; whether he has had discussions with the the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on the impact of solar farms on the rural (a) landscape and (b) communities; and if he will take steps to ensure that those farms are distributed over a wide area.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Although the precise location of energy infrastructure is a matter for developers, planning guidance sets out that the cumulative impact of solar developments located close to each other can be a factor in planning decisions. This impact should be considered by decision-makers.
Officials are in regular contact with their counterparts at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with whom they work closely on matters related to the rural impacts of solar farms.