Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much were constraint payments to wind farm operators in Great Britain (a) in total and (b) for each month between 1 April 2024 and 30 April 2025.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is responsible for operating Great Britain’s electricity system, which includes managing constraints. The NESO publishes daily constraint costs here: Constraint Breakdown Costs and Volume | National Energy System Operator. Data is not available on the split of costs between different types of generators.
Constraints are a natural part of operating an efficient electricity system and electricity systems around the world use the constraint payment model. Government is working to reduce constraints and enable a more secure energy system by accelerating the build of electricity network infrastructure to increase capacity.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many days was more than 10 per cent of UK electricity demand imported between 1 November 2024 and 30 April 2025.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not record daily electricity demand or import data. Half-hourly figures for electricity demand and import for Great Britain’s public distribution system are available from the National Energy System Operator (NESO) data portal. Quarter-hourly figures for Northern Ireland’s electricity demand from the public distribution system are available from EirGrid.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, on how many days were wholesale electricity prices in excess of £150 per megawatt hour during winter 2024-25.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC) publishes this data. It is available here:
https://dp.lowcarboncontracts.uk/dataset/imrp-actuals
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what information his Department holds on the (a) onshore and (b) offshore workforce in the North Sea oil and gas sector in (i) July 2024 and (ii) March 2025.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not hold its own estimates for the offshore or onshore North Sea oil and gas sector workforce. According to ONS data[1], direct jobs in oil and gas extraction fell by around a third between 2014 and 2023, despite ongoing domestic licensing and production.
As Britain becomes a clean energy superpower, the Government is determined to create new high-quality jobs to ensure a phased and responsible transition in the North Sea.
This is vital for delivering the best outcomes for workers and communities, energy security, and sustainable economic growth.
[1] ONS Business Register and Employment Survey
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of gas storage capability in the UK in (a) cubic feet (or other appropriate unit of volume) and (b) days of average usage; what steps he is taking to increase storage capacity; and when this will be complete.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
According to Ofgem’s annual publication, GB has eight gas storage sites with a combined maximum capacity of 3.2bcm – around 13 days of average (24/25) winter gas demand – and maximum deliverability of ~123mcm/day.
Gas storage is an effective source of system flexibility to supplement GB's supply sources from the UK and Norwegian Continental Shelves, LNG terminals and interconnectors. Storage can be used to respond to short-run changes in supply and demand or during cold winter months to help meet demand peaks. In winter 24/25, gas storage provided ~9% of the total gas used in GB.
The Government continues to work with storage operators and regulators, to explore options around the role storage can play in supporting future system resilience in a changing gas landscape.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
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 20 May 2025 to Question 52787 on Offshore Industry: Carbon Emissions, how many offshore oil and gas projects are awaiting the resumption of environmental impact assessment evaluations.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There are a variety of factors beyond the publication of the guidance that will influence a developer’s decisions on whether to proceed with a project, so it is therefore difficult to predict the exact number of projects waiting to commence the environmental impact assessment process.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to publish the outcome of his Department's consultation on draft supplementary guidance for assessing the effects of scope 3 emissions on climate from offshore oil and gas projects, which closed on 8 January 2025.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We remain committed to having the supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment guidance in place as soon as possible and are cognisant of its importance for providing certainty to the offshore oil and gas industry. We needed to take the time to analyse the consultation responses thoroughly and to reflect them in the finalised guidance which must be robust. Once the guidance is published, assessments of environmental statements can resume.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps the he is taking to (a) accelerate Track-1 Expansion, (b) ensure additional emitters can connect to carbon capture, usage and storage transport and storage infrastructure in Scotland and (c) support UK supply chains in that sector.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to CCUS, which will decarbonise power and industry in a way that drives growth, supports thousands of jobs, and could add £5 billion of value annually by 2050. Decisions over the continued deployment of CCUS, building on the HyNet and East Coast Cluster, will be taken as part of the Spending Review, including the potential for deployment in Scotland through the Acorn cluster.
We have also established the National Wealth Fund, part of which will focus on key energy sectors, including CCUS, addressing barriers to investment and strengthening the entire value chain.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an estimate of the proportion of UK North Sea (a) oil and (b) gas which would be produced by the (i) Rosebank and (ii) Jackdaw field.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Neither the Secretary of State nor I will be commenting on the specifics of individual projects to avoid potentially prejudicing any future regulatory decisions the Secretary of State is required to make in relation to these projects. We remain committed to having the supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment guidance in place as soon as possible. Once it is published, assessments of environmental statements can resume.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
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 the (a) Rosebank and (b) Jackdaw oil and gas fields not receiving consent to proceed on (i) the economy, (ii) tax revenue and (iii) employment.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Neither the Secretary of State nor I will be commenting on the specifics of individual projects to avoid potentially prejudicing any future regulatory decisions the Secretary of State is required to make in relation to these projects. We remain committed to having the supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment guidance in place as soon as possible. Once it is published, assessments of environmental statements can resume.