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 recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of restructuring policy levies on domestic energy bills on household disposable incomes.
Answered by Polly Billington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Tackling affordability is this Government’s number one priority. At the Budget on 28 October, the Government announced a new Cost Control Framework to be introduced at Spending Review 2027. Until that framework is in place, no further policy costs will be placed on energy bills unless they bring bills down or are essential to maintaining security of supply. The planned levy on gas bills to fund hydrogen will be scrapped, so the Government rather than consumers fund the costs of hydrogen projects.
This comes on top of the £150 of costs removed from bills at last year's Budget by scrapping ECO and moving 75% of the Renewables Obligation levy to the Exchequer, with these actions factored into bills until April 2029.
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 her Department has made of the potential impact of penalising non-ready infrastructure projects on electricity grid queue clearance rates under the Connections Action Plan.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has taken forward reforms to the grid connections process, removing over 300GW of project capacity from the main queue that was no longer progressing or was not required to meet the system’s needs by 2035.
Projects are required to meet ongoing progression milestones, such as securing planning consent, to retain their connection agreements with confirmed connection point and date. This supports a more efficient connections process and enables viable projects to progress more quickly.
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 recent assessment her Department has made of the impact of publicly owned energy generation assets on domestic retail tariffs.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy was established as a publicly owned energy company to increase public ownership of clean energy, accelerate the deployment of homegrown generation and ensure taxpayers, billpayers and communities reap the benefits.
By investing in, developing and owning clean energy generation, Great British Energy will accelerate the deployment of homegrown clean power, reducing our exposure to volatile international fossil fuel markets and helping to bring down bills for good.
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 progress Great British Nuclear has made in selecting technologies for the Small Modular Reactor deployment programme.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) is driving forward the small modular reactor (SMR) programme, backed by £2.6 billion across the Spending Review period.
Following a competitive selection process, GBE-N and Rolls-Royce SMR entered into a Technology Partner contract earlier this year, and are now jointly undertaking design work to progress the Gwyndod SMR project on Anglesey in North Wales.
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 recent progress Great British Energy has made in developing its Local Power Plan to support community-owned clean energy projects.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Through up to £1 billion investment in a combination of grants, loans, advice, expert help and more, the Local Power Plan will accelerate the build out of clean power in communities across the country delivering on Great British Energy's (GBE) commitment to support at least 1000 local and community-led clean energy projects. It represents the largest public investment in community energy in this country’s history.
In September this year, GBE launched £30 million of funding to kick start the community power revolution. This will help community organisations to develop community owned clean energy assets in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; local authorities in England to accelerate clean energy projects; and the Scottish government to support community energy in Scotland.
This builds on the up to £255 million GBE Solar Partnerships Scheme that will see solar and complementary technologies installed on around 250 schools, 260 NHS sites, and multiple military sites delivering lifetime savings of up to £520 million. Additionally, over £16 million has been allocated to Mayoral Strategic Authorities to support renewable energy on public buildings.
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 recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of expanded public infrastructure ownership on wholesale market price volatility.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Officials are currently considering options to increase public control in the energy system. As these options are developed, officials will consider impacts across areas including wholesale market price volatility where relevant.
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 recent discussions she has had with Ofgem on the alignment of the RIIO-3 network price controls with strategic industrial demand forecasts.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem, as the independent energy regulator, is responsible for setting the RIIO-3 network price controls, including determining investment allowances for regulated energy networks.
Ministers and officials engage regularly with Ofgem on strategic network investment requirements, including how the regulatory framework can respond to evolving electricity demand forecasts associated with economic growth, industrial electrification and the clean energy transition. While RIIO3 decisions remain for Ofgem, the government continues to work closely with the regulator to ensure the framework is adaptable to future network needs while delivering value for money consumers.
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 recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of expanding the operational mandate of Great British Energy on long-term price stability.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy’s operational mandate is set through the statutory framework established by the Great British Energy Act 2025 and the Secretary of State’s Statement of Strategic Priorities. Its activities include investment in local and community energy, domestic supply chains and electricity network infrastructure. As set out in GBE’s Strategic Plan, by investing in more diverse, homegrown clean energy, GBE can help reduce our exposure to volatile international fossil fuel markets and give households greater long-term energy price stability.
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 recent assessment her Department has made under the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements of the impact of locational wholesale electricity pricing on industrial manufacturing investment.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The potential impacts of zonal pricing formed part of the Government’s wider assessment of electricity market reform.
Previous modelling reflected the best available assumptions at the time of the July 2025 REMA decision. We intend to publish further analysis on zonal pricing and Reformed National Pricing by the end of 2026.
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 her Department has made of the feasibility of introducing a rising block tariff system within the domestic retail electricity market.
Answered by Polly Billington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government will continue to explore ways to support households with the cost of living. This includes building on work undertaken through the Household Income Kickstarter to ensure Government has better data through which to target support more effectively and examining with Ofgem how different tariff structures and cost recovery approaches, such as rising block tariffs, could work to the benefit of consumers. At the Budget the Government announced reforms to the retail energy market, including the abolishing of the gas standing charge to give households more control over what they pay. We are also continuing to work closely with Ofgem through its Cost Allocation and Recovery Review to consider wider reform of electricity standing charges and how electricity-system costs should be recovered in future.
Targeted bill-discount support is currently provided through the Warm Home Discount which provides eligible low-income households with £150 off their winter energy bill. Further support was announced at the Budget, including the launch of a £2.6 billion Household Energy Payment, which will provide a £100 payment directly into bank accounts from January 2027 for households in England in council tax bands A-D, supporting up to 20 million households, including almost 90% of households on the lowest incomes. This is on top of the removal of VAT on electricity bills that took effect on 1 October and an average of £150 of costs removed from bills since April.