Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 plans to take to support (a) lower income families and (b) pensioners impacted by the energy price cap increase.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government knows that more needs to be done to support vulnerable households struggling with their energy bills. That's why we are expanding the Warm Home Discount to around an additional 2.7 million households. This means that from this winter, around 6 million low-income households will receive the £150 support to help with their energy bill costs. The Warm Home Discount regulations expire in 2026, and we will want to consider all options for future bill support beyond this point.
I have been clear with suppliers that they should do all that they can to support their customers – including vulnerable consumers – who may be struggling with their bills. I would urge any consumers who are struggling to pay their bills to speak to their supplier, local authority, or Citizens Advice who may be able to provide help and support. Your constituent can also visit the GOV.UK website, where extra cost-of-living support can be found - www.gov.uk/cost-of-living.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 proportion of imported uranium that originates from Russia.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The procurement of nuclear fuel is a commercial matter for reactor operators. The Government works closely with operators and the nuclear industry to ensure there is a secure, resilient supply for the UK fleet, but the requested information on the operators’ source of imported uranium is a commercial matter. Disclosure of this information is at the discretion of the responsible commercial entities.
The Government has already committed to removing any Russian fuel and uranium supply to the UK by 2030.
All reactor operators must comply with UK domestic and international legal obligations, including any sanctions or trade measures in place against Russian-origin uranium.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when the first contract with a Russian uranium supplier was signed for Sizewell B; what the value is of that contract; whether his Department has considered cancelling that contract; and what alternative supplies of uranium there are that could replace the uranium contracted from Russia.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The procurement of nuclear fuel is a commercial matter for reactor operators. The Government works closely with these operators to ensure a secure and resilient supply of nuclear fuel but does not routinely collect information relating to the contracts held by UK operators. This is commercially sensitive, and disclosure would be at the discretion of the operator.
The Government has already committed to removing any Russian fuel and uranium supply to the UK by 2030. All reactor operators must comply with UK domestic and international legal obligations, including any sanctions or trade measures in place against Russian-origin uranium.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 to help mitigate the environmental impacts of AI data centres in relation to the target of Net Zero by 2050.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s forecasts for data centre demand to 2030 are consistent with its Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. The Government expects to be able to meet this demand through its plans to increase renewable power capacity, other low carbon generation and flexible and dispatchable power.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to review standing charges on electricity bills for households on prepayment meters.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government knows that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges. We are committed to lowering the cost of standing charges and have worked constructively with the regulator, Ofgem, on this issue.
Ofgem have been considering how to ensure that consumers have a range of choices, including tariffs with no standing charges, available, including for prepayment meter customers. Ofgem launched a consultation on proposals to introduce zero standing charge tariffs which closed on 20 March. Ofgem will issue a response to this consultation in due course.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 to ensure that households on heat network schemes have access to the same consumer protections as people on standard tariffs.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
DESNZ is introducing heat network regulation which aims to provide consumers with comparable protections to existing gas and electricity consumers.
From 27 January 2026 Ofgem will formally commence their role as the market regulator, with powers to investigate high prices and enforce authorisation conditions. These conditions will include rules on treatment of vulnerable consumers, transparent billing and quality of service. The scope of Consumer protection is not limited to the item’s bellow, but includes powers to investigate unfair pricing, require suppliers to institute protections for vulnerable consumers, and establish guaranteed standards of performance to ensure that a minimum quality of service is provided at all timesIn addition, from 1 April 2025 heat networks consumers have been able to access support specific to heat networks from Citizens Advice or Consumer Scotland, and have had add access to the Energy Ombudsman’s Consumer Redress .
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had discussions with the British Standards Institution on the implications of Publicly Available Specification 63100:2024 for the installation of domestic battery storage systems; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the one metre clearance requirement in section 6.5.5 of that specification on the uptake in housing stock.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 63100:2024 is a standard and not part of government regulation. The content of the draft standard was publicly consulted on and considered by the PAS Steering Group, which included battery manufacturers with an interest in ensuring rules are not unduly restrictive with regards to sale and installation.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many meetings his Department has had with (a) representatives of commercial nuclear manufacturers, (b) power utilities interested in building a new nuclear plant and (c) non-governmental organisations concerned with nuclear power in the last six months; and if he will publish the minutes of each meeting.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of (a) the comparative efficiency and (b) cost-effectiveness of (i) improving the thermal efficiency of existing Combined Cycle Gas Turbine power stations and (ii) investing in small modular nuclear reactors.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No direct assessment has been made of the impact of more efficient CCGTs on wholesale electricity prices, nor of the efficiency of CCGTs versus small modular reactors.
An efficient electricity system needs a range of technologies to ensure that we reach our carbon goals while ensuring cost-effective energy security. Increasing participation of renewables in the wholesale market means that, over time, those technologies will determine the price more often and gas will play a much more limited role in setting the market price.
Improving efficiency of CCGTs is a commercial decision for plant operators.
Great British Nuclear (GBN) is driving forward its small modular reactor (SMR) competition for UK deployment. As with any technology, the economic case for SMRs would be factored into any investment decision.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 improving the efficiency of existing Combined Cycle Gas Turbine power stations on wholesale electricity prices.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No direct assessment has been made of the impact of more efficient CCGTs on wholesale electricity prices, nor of the efficiency of CCGTs versus small modular reactors.
An efficient electricity system needs a range of technologies to ensure that we reach our carbon goals while ensuring cost-effective energy security. Increasing participation of renewables in the wholesale market means that, over time, those technologies will determine the price more often and gas will play a much more limited role in setting the market price.
Improving efficiency of CCGTs is a commercial decision for plant operators.
Great British Nuclear (GBN) is driving forward its small modular reactor (SMR) competition for UK deployment. As with any technology, the economic case for SMRs would be factored into any investment decision.