Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
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 merits of decoupling electricity and gas prices.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The existing Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme has been successful in bringing forth new renewable assets at fixed, competitive prices. CfDs are already beginning to decouple electricity and gas markets, protecting consumers from gas price volatility.
However, Government wants to go further and offer eligible legacy low-carbon generators new fixed price contracts, known as Wholesale CfDs. This will help speed up decoupling and protect families and businesses from higher electricity bills when gas prices increase. We plan to consult on this policy later in the year and all impacts will be scrutinised and assessed as the policy develops, with contracts being offered only where they deliver clear value for money for the consumer.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with Ofgem on wind farms and the practice of curtailment, in the context of the current price of electricity.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The current extent of grid constraints reflects years of underinvestment, with new network infrastructure development having lagged the expansion of new generation.
That’s why this Government is delivering the biggest upgrade in Great Britain’s electricity network in decades.
Alongside this, in April the Government set out it’s Reformed National Pricing Delivery plan, which outlines a number of measures the Government is taking to improve system efficiency and reduce the costs associated with network constraints. We are working closely with Ofgem and NESO to deliver these actions.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has reviewed curtailment policy in the context of the conflict in the Middle East.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The current extent of grid constraints reflects years of underinvestment, with new network infrastructure development having lagged the expansion of new generation.
That’s why this Government is delivering the biggest upgrade in Great Britain’s electricity network in decades.
Alongside this, in April the Government set out it’s Reformed National Pricing Delivery plan, which outlines a number of measures the Government is taking to improve system efficiency and reduce the costs associated with network constraints. We are working closely with Ofgem and NESO to deliver these actions.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
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 how much curtailed wind energy could have instead been stored in batteries or other forms of energy storage.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has not undertaken an assessment of how much curtailed wind energy could have instead been stored in batteries or other forms of energy storage. The Government has commissioned and published analysis by LCP Delta and Regen on the benefits of Long-Duration Electricity Storage (LDES), including reduced wind curtailment, which has informed policy to encourage storage deployment including the LDES Cap and Floor.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much was paid to wind farm operators for constraint and curtailment payments in 2025 and 2026 so far; and what steps he is taking to reduce this figure.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The costs associated with network curtailment and other balancing actions are passed on to consumers in electricity bills.
As set out in the Reformed National Pricing (RNP) Delivery Plan, wind generators were paid £370 million in 2024/2025 to reduce generation their generation in order to support balancing of the network. Annual balancing costs for 2025/26 will be published in due course by NESO.
The Government is taking forward work through the Reformed National Pricing (RNP) programme to reduce constraint costs and improve consumer outcomes, as outlined in the Reformed National Pricing Delivery Plan.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
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 amount consumers paid through electricity bills for wind farm curtailment in the last 12 months.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The costs associated with network curtailment and other balancing actions are passed on to consumers in electricity bills.
As set out in the Reformed National Pricing (RNP) Delivery Plan, wind generators were paid £370 million in 2024/2025 to reduce generation their generation in order to support balancing of the network. Annual balancing costs for 2025/26 will be published in due course by NESO.
The Government is taking forward work through the Reformed National Pricing (RNP) programme to reduce constraint costs and improve consumer outcomes, as outlined in the Reformed National Pricing Delivery Plan.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, who will represent the UK at the First Conference on Transitioning away from Fossil Fuels in Colombia in April 2026; and what her Department's policy is on this transition.
Answered by Katie White - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK’s Special Representative for Climate will lead the UK delegation at the Conference.
The UK is fully committed to the transition away from fossil fuels, domestically and internationally, with recent events underlining once more the risks of being exposed to volatile international fossil fuel markets.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with Ofgem on reducing electricity and gas standing charges.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The Government knows that, for many consumers, too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges. We are committed to lowering the cost of standing charges and are working constructively with Ofgem, on this issue. Ofgem have conducted a broad public consultation to understand the views of consumers on this issue, receiving over 5,000 responses on their 2024 discussion paper. Since then, Ofgem have been continuing work in two areas.
Firstly, Ofgem have been working to ensure that domestic consumers can choose tariffs with low or no standing charges. Ofgem took a further step towards this goal on 24th July, announcing proposals to require suppliers to offer their customers low or no standing charge tariffs from early 2026. You can read about this here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/policy/standing-charges-energy-price-cap-variant-next-steps.
Secondly, Ofgem have been reviewing how ‘fixed’ costs, which tend to be funded through standing charges, should be recovered in the future energy system. This includes whether those fixed costs could be recovered in more progressive ways, and we are working closely with the regulator on this.