Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Jonathan Ashworth and Chris Huhne
Chris Huhne
It certainly does. My hon. Friend makes a very sensible point. It is precisely that sort of home, built before the first world war, for which we are going for the first time to be able to offer a substantial holistic refit, precisely because of the support given to solid wall insulation.
Jonathan Ashworth (Leicester South) (Lab)
T5. The Secretary of State will be aware that in the last few days the National Grid Company has said it would welcome greater independent auditing of its contracting arrangements with STOR—short-term operating reserve—aggregators. Given that the National Grid admits that it buys 500 phantom MW a year, which it presumably passes on to consumers, will the Secretary of State now insist on independent auditing of this relationship with STOR aggregators so that consumers get a fairer deal?
Electricity Market Reform
Debate between Jonathan Ashworth and Chris Huhne
Jon Ashworth (Leicester South) (Lab)
Many of my constituents are understandably angry about increased electricity and gas prices—British Gas is a striking example—so can the Secretary of State guarantee that these reforms will not contribute to increased energy prices in the short to medium term?
Chris Huhne
It is inevitable that, given that we need the new investment that we have been discussing today, there will be a cost. The energy companies are not the Salvation Army. They do not do things out of altruism; they do them because they are going to reach a rate of return on capital. However, I can assure the hon. Gentleman of this: if he looks at the detail in the White Paper, he will see that our proposals will reduce costs to the consumer compared to leaving the market as it is. Central to our ambition is ensuring that we have affordable, low-cost electricity and that we protect British consumers from the vagaries of past years—with the 30% increase in gas prices and a corresponding increase in electricity prices.