Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Julian Sturdy and Ed Davey
Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)
18. What steps the Government is taking to ensure security of energy supply.
The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Mr Edward Davey)
For the security of electricity supply, we are taking short, medium and long-term actions. In the short term, National Grid and Ofgem are implementing a reserve of power stations—stations that would otherwise be mothballed or closed—to be used if necessary, and we are actively supporting new proposals for interconnectors with Europe. In the medium term, we have finalised our plan for a capacity market, and plan to run the first auction for capacity later this year. In the long term, we have introduced our electricity market reform which is leading to the current boom in low-carbon energy investment.
Mr Davey
My hon. Friend is right. The generating market, to which not enough attention is paid, is becoming more competitive. The amount of electricity traded on the day ahead market has increased from 5% to more than 50%, which has really improved competition, and Ofgem’s measures to create more liquidity in the forward market, which take effect next week, will enable the entry for which he asks.
Julian Sturdy
Given the public backlash throughout the country against onshore wind farms, will the Secretary of State update me on future investment for tidal and wave energy, which is a much less intrusive form of renewable energy that can provide a constant energy supply that would help to deal with security in the future?
Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)
T6. Communities to the east of my constituency are facing proposals for two 80-metre wind turbines. To add to their misery, proposals are in the pipeline for a further 40 wind farms across York in the council’s draft local plan. Given that we have already achieved the Government’s target capacity of 13 GW for onshore wind, including those in the planning process and those that have planning permission, will the Secretary of State agree to look again at the subsidy for onshore wind and attempt to rebalance it in favour of other renewables?
Mr Davey
I have to tell my hon. Friend that we are favouring other renewables. Offshore wind and other renewables get much higher strike prices. With regard to the spend from our low-carbon electricity budget, under the levy control framework they get more support because they are less mature technologies. As the technologies mature, we have been reducing support, whether for solar or onshore wind, in particular. Onshore wind is playing a vital role. It is the cheapest large-scale renewable technology, and I would not want to do anything to reduce its deployment.
Annual Energy Statement
Debate between Julian Sturdy and Ed Davey
Mr Davey
That is not correct. The energy statement is made every year, and we have been working on many of the proposals that have been announced today for many years. We are having to put right Labour’s failure. I am delighted that the Labour party has woken up to the fact that energy bills are hurting people, but Labour Members have not yet apologised for creating the big six, which have caused most of the problem.
Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)
My constituents will welcome the Secretary of State’s determination to ensure rigorous competition in the marketplace. However, the biggest driver of price volatility will be the security of our energy market—or lack of it. Can he assure me that the proper investment is going into that area? The lack of investment by the Labour party over 13 years in power is a disgrace.
Mr Davey
My hon. Friend makes an important point. If we do not have sufficient capacity, not only will that threaten security, but it will cause spikes in prices. The underinvestment that we had under the last Government has caused this problem, and we are having to run to catch up. We have seen £35 billion of investment since 2010, and we have a lot more investment in the pipeline. We have announced Hinkley Point C as the first nuclear reactor in a generation, but we will have to do more to put right the mess that Labour left us.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Julian Sturdy and Ed Davey(11 years, 1 month ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Mr Davey
I have done more than that from the Dispatch Box. I have said to British Gas customers that if they are worried about the prices, they should change supplier. A range of competitors and alternative suppliers are offering much better deals. By the way, those suppliers are there because of the actions of this Government. In 2011, no other independent supplier could compete with British Gas and SSE, and none had more than 50,000 customers. We now have strong, independent suppliers that customers can turn to and I urge them to do so.
Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)
In welcoming the new solar road map, in which the Minister sets out guiding principles for the appropriate siting of solar PV, may I ask what added protection from solar farms the road map gives to green-belt land?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Julian Sturdy and Ed Davey
Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)
T6. As high energy bills continue to affect local households in my constituency, can the Minister outline what the Government are doing to improve the UK’s long-term energy security problems? If energy security is not addressed—I stress that it is a long-term issue—energy bills will continue to soar.
Mr Davey
My hon. Friend is exactly right. Later this month when we publish the energy Bill, he will see that we have very ambitious electricity market reforms to deliver, among other things, energy security in the future. We need investment of £110 billion in our energy infrastructure over the next decade. That is a real task, and we need to make sure that there are incentives to bring forward that low-carbon investment.