Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
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 implications for his policies of reports that gas prices determine the cost of (a) electricity and (b) renewable electricity prices.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Like all commodities markets globally, the UK's wholesale electricity market works through marginal pricing, where the price is set by the additional unit needed to meet overall demand. This provides a signal of the value of consuming or generating an additional unit at any given time, on which both operational and investment decisions can be made.
As part of the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) programme, the Government is considering a range of potential options to maintain the benefits of marginal pricing, while shielding consumers from the impacts of potential future commodity price spikes and ensuring they benefit from lower cost renewables.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent steps the Government has taken to reduce wait times for new green energy projects to connect to the national grid.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is supporting industry led workstreams to release network capacity and reduce connection timescales, including the Electricity System Operator’s Five Point Plan to accelerate transmission connections and the Energy Network Association’s Three Step Plan for distribution. The Government is also working with Ofgem and the network companies to further reform the connection process, and will publish details in the summer in a Connections Action Plan.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
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 merits of proposals to introduce an explicit legal duty for Ofgem to support work towards the UK's net zero targets.
Answered by Graham Stuart
On 10th May, the Government published a consultation for a Strategy and Policy Statement (SPS) for energy policy, which sets out Ofgem's role in promoting the UK's net zero targets. Ofgem will be required to have regard to the SPS, and has a statutory duty to protect consumer interests in the reduction of greenhouse gases.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent steps the Government has taken to maximise the (a) take up and (b) speed of the roll out of the ECO+ scheme.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Great British Insulation Scheme is expected to be established by summer 2023. Obligated energy suppliers are able to deliver measures before this, from 30 March 2023, following the publication of the Government response to last year’s consultation on scheme design. Yearly targets will be set, including minimum levels of delivery, whilst allowing energy suppliers to progress more rapidly and have measures counted towards their overall scheme obligation.
The Government is also working with energy suppliers to launch a new service in the summer to allow householders to check eligibility and refer themselves to the scheme.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
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 plausibility of extracting hydroelectrically-generated power from (a) the River Thames and (b) other major UK rivers.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Hydropower accounts for approximately 2% of total electricity generation in the UK. Much of this deployment is in a small run-of-river projects, which use the natural downward flow of rivers and tend to be relatively expensive.
Studies in Scotland, England and Wales indicate that there is a maximum remaining technical potential of around 1.5GW for small-scale hydro, including in rivers in the UK.
The viable remaining resource is less than 1GW due to economic and environmental constraints. This represents less than 1% of total generation capacity, and cannot therefore be a significant contributor to the UK's future generation plans.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that people with Parkinson's Disease do not enter poverty due to the cost of energy bills in winter 2023-24.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The Autumn Statement set out a commitment to work with consumer groups and industry to consider the best approach to consumer protection from April 2024. As part of this work, the Government is working with disability organisations, assessing the need for specific support for disabled people.
Officials are considering the options and proactively discussing these with stakeholders. In addition, for 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
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 estimate of the money provided to fossil fuel companies as a result of the Energy Charter Treaty.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Data relating to Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) cases, including under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), can be found on the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) website. The UK has not faced a successful ISDS claim, including under the ECT.
The UK Government does not routinely gather data relating to Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) cases, where it is not a party to such disputes.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
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 public opinion on (a) installation and (b) capacity of onshore wind.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department conducts regular public opinion research into a range of energy technologies, including onshore wind. The full results of these studies are published on our website at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-attitudes-tracking-survey.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
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 implications for his policies of the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change entitled Sixth Assessment Report, published on 20 March 2023; and whether his Department plans to take further steps to (a) reduce fossil fuel use in the energy system and (b) transition to a renewable energy system.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is committed to reaching net zero by 2050, in line with advice from the UK’s independent Climate Change Committee, and consistent with findings from the IPCC’s Synthesis Report[1].
The Government outlined its plans to reach net zero and nearer term targets in the Net Zero Strategy, published October 2021, and the British Energy Security Strategy, published April 2022.
The Government is committed to decarbonising the UK’s electricity system by 2035, subject to security of supply. While oil and gas remain an essential resource, around 40% of UK electricity now comes from renewable generation, up from 7% in 2010.
[1] https://report.ipcc.ch/ar6syr/pdf/IPCC_AR6_SYR_SPM.pdf
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
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 2 September 2022 to Question 46172 on Energy: Tenants, whether his Department is introducing regulations to require heat networks to pass on the benefit of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme to end consumers.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme regulations require heat networks to pass through the discount to end consumers in a just and reasonable manner.