Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
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 through the Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan to support the gas turbine supply chain.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan takes a whole‑system approach to strengthening UK supply chains. Through Great British Energy, we are establishing a £1 billion Clean Energy Supply Chain Fund to support companies with the greatest potential to grow domestic manufacturing and capability.
We are mobilising public and private investment to scale supply chains across clean energy sectors and secure long‑term economic growth. We are also supporting energy‑intensive industries, including those in key manufacturing supply chains, through electricity cost relief and decarbonisation support. Where gas turbine supply chains contribute to the clean energy transition, they can benefit from these wider cross‑cutting interventions to strengthen UK capability and resilience.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
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 impact of energy infrastructure procurement times on the delivery timeline for nationally significant data centres.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government recognises the impact of electricity infrastructure procurement times on data centres and is supporting supply chains and skills across industry through the Sector Growth Plan, to improve demand visibility, strengthen domestic manufacturing, and help reduce lead times and support earlier investment decisions.
This is part of a package of measures to accelerate network build and connections, including for data centres, that includes exploring direct high-voltage connections and self-build of electricity assets, reforms to manage speculative demand applications and accelerate strategically important projects including AI Growth Zones, and establishing the AI Energy Council to explore opportunities to attract investment.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
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 impact of network constraint payments on the unit cost of electricity for industrial consumers.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Reformed National Pricing Delivery Plan sets out an ambitious package of measures to bear down on costs in the next few years, particularly in relation to the network constraints caused by historic under-investment in the electricity grid.
Furthermore, the Government has committed to uplifting the level of relief offered to energy intensive industries (EIIs) through the Network Charging Compensation Scheme from 60% to 90%, taking effect from the claim month of April 2026. This provides relief for constraints costs by reducing Balancing Services Use of System charges for EIIs.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
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 increase competition in the onshore connection market through the use of Independent Distribution Network Operators.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem is responsible for the regulation of competition in connections. Following its open letter on “regulatory arrangements for independent distribution network operators”,[1] Ofgem is undertaking a review of the current regulatory framework. The review will consider how Independent Distribution Network Operators can support wider system reform and contribute to whole-system benefits. Ofgem expects to complete the review in the second half of 2027.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
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 impact of global gas turbine supply chain lead times on the delivery of dispatchable power capacity.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As set out in the Clean Power Action Plan, maintaining security of electricity supply in a Clean Power system will require continued reliance on the existing gas fleet as the main mature, reliable source of long-duration flexibility until low-carbon alternative dispatchable technologies are deployed at scale. Given the age of the fleet, a limited amount of new unabated gas capacity may be needed to replace retiring plants as part of a diverse and resilient energy mix.
The Department is engaging with industry to understand global supply chain constraints, including gas turbine availability, and is considering policy options to ensure market signals support timely investment in both refurbishment of existing plant and, where necessary, new build capacity.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking through the Energy Resilience Strategy to mitigate risks to national grid stability.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Maintaining the stability and operability of Great Britain’s electricity system is the responsibility of the independent National Energy System Operator (NESO), working with network companies through regulated market arrangements.
The Government works closely with NESO to support the effective delivery of these responsibilities and NESO has a range of tools at its disposal to keep the electricity system in balance and maintain system stability.
The Energy Resilience Strategy will set out the Government’s strategic priorities for a resilient energy system, now and in the future, and how the Government will work with industry, the regulator and wider society to deliver that. Accordingly, the Government is working closely with NESO to develop and deliver the priorities to be set out in this strategy.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking through the Energy Skills Passport to ensure a pipeline of specialist engineers for the (a) construction and (b) maintenance of energy infrastructure.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In October 2025, Government published the Clean Energy Jobs Plan, which set out the workforce to deliver the clean energy superpower mission and how we will work with industry and trade unions to deliver it. This included announcing support to expand the Energy Skills Passport to include additional roles and sectors.
More widely, Government is funding a four-year engineering skills package worth £182 million, including funding for Technical Excellence Colleges, £47 million for engineering skills for adults, £2 million to increase the number of engineering T-Levels, and £8 million investment in level 4 and 5 clean energy engineering courses.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
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 impact of grid connection lead times on the delivery of new housing developments.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government recognises that grid delays are holding up new housing developments and that action to ensure timely connections for demand is vital for economic growth and decarbonisation.
Government has already unblocked delays to housing developments in West London, working with DNOs to introducing flexible connection arrangements allowing developments to ramp up electricity use over 10 years.
We are now going further to reform the connections process for demand. The Department recently consulted on measures to manage queue oversubscription and enable government to prioritise connections for strategic demand projects, including housing. Government will respond to this consultation in due course.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
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 identify alternative financing models for flexible gas generation that ensure price stability for households and businesses.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This government has been clear that the answers to the challenges around affordability, energy security and sustainability point in the same direction, clean energy.
Clean Power means that by 2030, Great Britain will generate enough clean power to meet our total annual electricity demand, backed up by unabated gas supply to be used only when essential.
As the role of unabated gas diminishes, we continue to work with NESO and Ofgem to explore how market and system arrangements can evolve to minimise its impact on energy bills, whilst retaining sufficient unabated gas capacity for security of supply.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
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 effectiveness of the Contracts for Difference scheme in decoupling wholesale electricity prices from gas price volatility for household consumers.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme has been successful in bringing forth new renewable assets at fixed, competitive prices. AR7 was the most successful round ever and secured 14.7 GW of new clean energy. CfDs are already beginning to decouple electricity and gas markets, protecting consumers from gas price volatility.
However, as announced in April, we plan to go further and faster on delinking by offering legacy low carbon assets, around 30% of the market, the opportunity to move onto a fixed price CfD. These contracts will only be offered where they deliver clear value for money for consumers.