Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
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 that (a) energy companies correctly bill consumers by default and (b) any billing mistakes are corrected promptly and without significant delay.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem, as the independent regulator, is responsible for ensuring good consumer outcomes, including accurate billing by energy companies. The government committed in its manifesto to strengthen the regulator to require higher standards of performance and ensure there is automatic customer compensation for failures.
On 10 November Ofgem published plans to overhaul customer service standards, including a review of its Guaranteed Standards of Performance. These set minimum standards of performance that all suppliers must meet for specific services. If they fail to do so, they must pay £40 automatic compensation to affected consumers. In addition, the Government is consulting on reforms to the role and powers of the Energy Ombudsman to ensure that consumers have fairer, faster access to redress when things go wrong. This includes removing the barriers which prevent consumers from accessing the Ombudsman’s services, such as low levels of awareness and long waiting times.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on preparations for a potential heatwave in summer 2024.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department works closely with a variety of stakeholders to ensure cross-sector preparedness in advance of potential risks that may manifest. From a seasonal preparedness perspective as we approach summer 2024, we are confident that, due to the diverse nature of the electricity system and the highly resilient equipment that is used throughout, the risks associated with extreme heat are low and it is unlikely that customers will be impacted. In the highly unlikely circumstance that the risks associated with extreme heat materialise, the most likely impact would be localised electricity disruption, for which electricity network operators have robust plans in place to mitigate.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has had discussions with Ofgem on increases to the energy standing charge.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
I regularly meet with Ofgem to discuss the energy retail market, including standing charges. On 16th November, Ofgem announced a Call for Input (CfI) on standing charges. The CfI seeks to gain greater understanding on how standing charges are applied to energy bills and what alternatives could be considered. Government welcomes this and looks forward to Ofgem’s conclusions.
Further information on the CfI may be found online at: www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/launch-review-standing-charges-energy-bills
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to encourage private landlords to retrofit their properties to increase insulation.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is spending £6bn this Parliament and a further £6bn to 2028 on making buildings cleaner and warmer, in addition to £5bn to be delivered through the Energy Company Obligation and the Great British Insulation Scheme up to March 2026.
Last year the Government introduced a zero-rate of VAT for five years on energy saving measures and low-carbon heating, making it cheaper for people to invest in their properties and reduce energy usage.
A brand-new eligibility tool was launched on the ‘Help for Households’ GOV.UK page that will help people find the support available to them via the Home Upgrade Grant and the Great British Insulation Scheme.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to assist homeowners living in conservation areas to improve the energy-efficiency of their homes.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Work is ongoing to meet the commitment made in the British Energy Security Strategy to review the planning barriers households face when installing energy efficiency measures in conservation areas and listed buildings.
The review will ensure protection of local amenity and heritage whilst making it easier to improve energy efficiency in protected buildings. It will be published in due course.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when the biomass strategy will be published; and what steps that strategy will take to help achieve the UK's net zero targets.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department plans to publish the Biomass Strategy before summer recess. The Strategy will review how sustainable biomass could be best utilised across the economy to help achieve the Government’s Net Zero and wider environmental commitments, while also supporting energy security.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
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 has taken to support charitable sheltered housing providers to upgrade to achieve a band C Energy Performance Certificate.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The 2019 Conservative Manifesto committed to a £3.8bn Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) over a 10-year period to improve the energy performance of social rented homes. The SHDF will upgrade a significant amount of the social housing stock currently below EPC C to that standard.
£778 million of Government funding was allocated for Wave 2.1 of the SHDF in March 2023. Registered charities who own social housing were able to apply directly to Wave 2.1 of the SHDF.
The Autumn Statement announced that £6 billion of new Government funding will be made available for energy efficiency from 2025 to 2028.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
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 adequacy of grid capacity to meet the demand for projects that hold contracts for transmission entry capacity.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
Electricity network companies are regulated to build and operate the grid to meet consumer demand by Ofgem, the independent energy regulator. Recognising the scale of the challenge to ensure grid capacity meets demand, government has already taken action to improve strategic planning and accelerate consenting and regulatory approvals. Nick Winser was appointed as the Electricity Networks Commissioner in July 2022 to advise the Government on how to further reduce the development timeline for new transmission network infrastructure. The Commissioner will deliver his recommendations in June, and the Government will respond with an action plan during 2023.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to help increase grid connectivity for (a) renewable energy generation and (b) battery energy storage.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Ynys Môn on 17 April 2023 to Question 176768. The Government works with Ofgem and network companies to accelerate connections by releasing network capacity and improving the connections process. As part of this work, the Electricity System Operator is seeking expressions of interest, by 30 April 2023, from developers who are willing and able to connect earlier than their allocated connection date. The Government will publish a Connections Action Plan in the summer, which will articulate actions by government, Ofgem and network companies to accelerate network connections, including for renewable energy and battery storage projects.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will take steps to end the licensing of new oil and gas developments in the UK.
Answered by Graham Stuart
When the UK reaches net zero in 2050, it is estimated that the UK will still use a quarter of the gas it does now, although this will be fully abated by technologies like Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage. Even with new licensing, UK production is projected to fall by 7% per year.
Instead of ending all new licensing, the Government has implemented a Climate Compatibility Checkpoint, assessing whether new licensing is compatible with the UK’s climate targets. This is a better tool for supporting the Government's climate change objectives than an arbitrary cut-off, as the checkpoint incentivises concrete decarbonisation action from industry.