Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
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 the performance of UK Power Networks in restoring supplies and communicating with customers during power outages.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State and I regularly speak to Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) on a range of issues.
Great Britian has a highly resilient energy system, and when incidents do occur, industry have well practiced plans to minimise impacts as quickly as possible.
All DNOs, including UK Power Networks, are required to report on restoration times during outages, including on their websites, where they offer power outage information.
All DNOs are regulated by the independent regulator, Ofgem, which sets annual targets for customer interruptions and customer minutes lost. Each year DNOs must report their performance against these measures to Ofgem. Ofgem then assesses if targets have been met and rewards or penalises DNOs appropriately.
Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
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 ensure that UK Power Networks provides timely and accessible information to impacted by unplanned power outages.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State and I regularly speak to Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) on a range of issues.
Great Britian has a highly resilient energy system, and when incidents do occur, industry have well practiced plans to minimise impacts as quickly as possible.
All DNOs, including UK Power Networks, are required to report on restoration times during outages, including on their websites, where they offer power outage information.
All DNOs are regulated by the independent regulator, Ofgem, which sets annual targets for customer interruptions and customer minutes lost. Each year DNOs must report their performance against these measures to Ofgem. Ofgem then assesses if targets have been met and rewards or penalises DNOs appropriately.
Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she plans to review the compensation available to households and businesses impacted by electricity outages.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem sets the Quality of Service Guaranteed Standards that must be met by each electricity network company. These standards have been set to a level of service that it is reasonable to expect companies to deliver in all cases. Customers are entitled to compensation if distribution companies fail to meet the service standards required.
The current compensation rules were set in April 2023 for the duration of the current price control for electricity Distribution Network Operators (RIIO-ED2, 1 April 2023 – 31 March 2028).
Ofgem are developing the next five-year price control (RIIO-ED3 running 2028-2033) and will review their compensation arrangements as a part of this process.
Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the resilience of the electricity distribution network in Hertfordshire to extreme weather and unplanned outages.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Maintaining the resilience of the energy system is one of Government’s top priorities. We work closely with Ofgem and all Distribution Network Operators (DNOs), such as UKPN, to continually improve and maintain the resilience, preparedness and security of energy infrastructure against risks including severe weather events.
Ofgem regulates DNOs through a price control process. This includes incentives to reduce the frequency and duration of power interruptions, no matter the cause, and to invest in and maintain infrastructure to guarantee minimum standards of service.
Following the Storm Arwen Review, operators have made significant improvements to system resilience during severe weather events.
Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the number of vehicles owned by his Department coming to their end of life; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making those vehicles available to the Ukrainian military.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Energy and Net Zero does not own any vehicles.