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Written Question
National Grid: Scotland
Wednesday 2nd November 2022

Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 6 September 2022 to Question 40864 on National Grid: Scotland, if he will make an estimate of the cost of delivering the Eastern High Voltage Direct Current Link scheme via overland pylons.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Eastern High Voltage Direct Current Link scheme is a joint project between the three private electricity transmission network companies in Great Britain. Eastern Links 1 and 2 have received Final Needs Case approvals from Ofgem based on estimated combined capital costs (not lifetime costs) of £3.4bn.

The Electricity System Operator’s Holistic Network Design, a blueprint for offshore and onshore transmission projects required to support Government’s ambition for 50GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, confirmed the need for the Eastern Links 1 and 2. The Holistic Network Design is estimated to save consumers £5.5bn over the network asset lifetime.


Written Question
Electric Cables: Seas and Oceans
Wednesday 2nd November 2022

Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 22 March 2021 to Question 167922 on Electric Cables: Seas and Oceans, if he will make an estimate of the lifetime cost of the Eastern High Voltage Direct Current Link scheme.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Eastern High Voltage Direct Current Link scheme is a joint project between the three private electricity transmission network companies in Great Britain. Eastern Links 1 and 2 have received Final Needs Case approvals from Ofgem based on estimated combined capital costs (not lifetime costs) of £3.4bn.

The Electricity System Operator’s Holistic Network Design, a blueprint for offshore and onshore transmission projects required to support Government’s ambition for 50GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, confirmed the need for the Eastern Links 1 and 2. The Holistic Network Design is estimated to save consumers £5.5bn over the network asset lifetime.


Written Question
Electric Cables: Seas and Oceans
Wednesday 2nd November 2022

Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 6 September 2022 to Question 40864 on National Grid: Scotland and to Answer of 6 June 2022 to Question 6661 on Electric Cables: Seas and Oceans, for what reason the Government was able to provide the financial cost of the proposed Sealink 1 undersea electrical cable from Sizewell to Kent but not in a position to provide a cost of delivering the Eastern High Voltage Direct Current Link scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Eastern High Voltage Direct Current Link scheme is a joint project between the three private electricity transmission network companies in Great Britain. Eastern Links 1 and 2 have received Final Needs Case approvals from Ofgem based on estimated combined capital costs (not lifetime costs) of £3.4bn.

The Electricity System Operator’s Holistic Network Design, a blueprint for offshore and onshore transmission projects required to support Government’s ambition for 50GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, confirmed the need for the Eastern Links 1 and 2. The Holistic Network Design is estimated to save consumers £5.5bn over the network asset lifetime.


Written Question
Post Office: Income
Monday 31st October 2022

Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much and what proportion of Post Office Limited revenue was distributed to Post Masters for providing in-branch high street banking services in the latest year for which data is available.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Post Office Limited publishes their reports and accounts annually and lays them before Parliament. These reports include information on the total costs Post Office allocate for postmaster remuneration, and can be found here: https://corporate.postoffice.co.uk/en/governance/key-reports-statements/post-office-annual-report-accounts-2020-21.

Post Office Limited is a commercial business. It has a Chief Executive and a Board of Directors, who are responsible for running Post Office day-to-day and for providing strategic oversight respectively. The remuneration postmasters receive for different services is a commercial decision for Post Office Limited.


Written Question
Business Premises: Solar Power
Tuesday 18th October 2022

Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans he has to help increase the use of solar panels on roofs of industrial and commercial buildings.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government is encouraging businesses to install solar panels on their roofs in various ways, for example through a business rate exemption for a range of green technologies, including solar panels and solar & storage packages, used for generating renewable energy onsite until 2035.

Businesses installing solar panels also benefit from tax relief. My Rt. Hon. Friend the then Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Growth Plan set out that the temporary increase in Annual Investment Allowance for qualifying expenditure on plant and machinery assets (including solar panels) has been made permanent.

The Government is also reviewing existing permitted development rights to simplify planning and enable more rooftop solar deployment on industrial and commercial buildings.


Written Question
National Grid: Scotland
Tuesday 6th September 2022

Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department made of the cost of delivering the Eastern Link HVDC scheme overland via traditional pylons; and what underlying assumptions were used in reaching that estimate.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Eastern High Voltage Direct Current Link scheme is a joint project between the three private electricity transmission network companies in Great Britain, which are developing a Business Case, including consideration of different ways to deliver the link. Ofgem, as the regulator, is responsible for overseeing this. Government has no role in the costing of this project.


Written Question
National Grid
Thursday 21st July 2022

Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information he holds on whether National Grid or National Grid ESO has sought estimates from companies capable of delivering undersea bootstraps to ascertain the potential cost of offshore transmission alternatives to East Anglia GREEN.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Private network operators, in this case National Grid Electricity Transmission, are responsible for delivering network infrastructure necessary to meet consumer needs. This includes identifying preferred options for the infrastructure, considering a range of factors. Network operators tender for suppliers to deliver the project, considering efficiencies and cost, to ensure value for money for the consumer.

The independent energy regulator, Ofgem, regulates and incentivises network operators to do this efficiently through its network price controls, including considering delivery times and technical capability of individual projects.


Written Question
National Grid: East of England
Thursday 21st July 2022

Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will make an estimate of the (a) time it would take to complete and (b) cost of transmitting the capacity required from East Anglia GREEN pylons through alternative primarily undersea interconnectors.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Private network operators, in this case National Grid Electricity Transmission, are responsible for delivering network infrastructure necessary to meet consumer needs. This includes identifying preferred options for the infrastructure, considering a range of factors. Network operators tender for suppliers to deliver the project, considering efficiencies and cost, to ensure value for money for the consumer.

The independent energy regulator, Ofgem, regulates and incentivises network operators to do this efficiently through its network price controls, including considering delivery times and technical capability of individual projects.


Written Question
National Grid
Thursday 21st July 2022

Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether it is his Department's policy to attribute different weight in different parts of the UK to the impact on communities as determining factor in whether new electrical transmission pylon infrastructure should be via overland pylons or undersea connections.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

It is Government policy for any part of Great Britain that overhead lines are the starting presumption for most electricity network developments. This takes account of the fact that undergrounding and the use of offshore subsea cables is significantly more expensive.

However, overhead lines can cause detrimental landscape and visual impacts in particularly sensitive areas. Within the energy National Policy Statements, undergrounding and the use of subsea cables can be considered where the benefits outweigh other considerations. This applies across Great Britain.


Written Question
Electricity Interconnectors: Costs
Thursday 22nd April 2021

Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the cost of SCD1, the proposed offshore HVDC link between Suffolk and Kent.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

SCD1, the proposed 2GW offshore HVDC link between Suffolk and Kent is planned to transfer renewable energy generated from offshore wind farms on the coast of East Anglia to demand within the south east of England, bypassing the most constrained areas of the network. National Grid Electricity System Operator’s Network Options Assessment (NOA) 2020/21 indicates a cost band for this project of £1 billion - £1.5 billion. The NOA 2020/21 analysis suggests SCD1 could provide significant economic benefit to multiple areas in the south and east regions as it can be configured to transfer power in both directions.