Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Karl McCartney and Ed Davey

Thursday 31st January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davey]

I am grateful for the hon. Lady’s question. Officials are working closely on the bid, although obviously I cannot prejudge the decision.

[Karl MᶜCartney (Lincoln) (Con)]

T7. As a fellow Member representing an area in the green and pleasant county that is Lincolnshire, the Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, my hon. Friend the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr Hayes), will be aware that Lincolnshire county council is deeply troubled by the local impact of onshore wind deployment. Does my hon. Friend share that concern?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Karl McCartney and Ed Davey

Thursday 17th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davey]

My hon. Friend is quite right to point to the fact that one reason for bringing forward electricity market reform and the energy Bill is to ensure that we meet this country’s energy infrastructure needs, which are huge, as we see 20% of power plants coming offline over the next decade and the need to make the transition to low-carbon energy. That is a huge challenge, which could be very expensive for consumers. One of the reasons we need to reform the electricity market is therefore to ensure that that infrastructure investment can be made at the lowest cost imaginable.

[Karl MᶜCartney]

Can my right hon. colleague update the House on his Department’s progress in cutting red tape for small energy suppliers to help increase competition in the market and thereby keep prices down for my constituents in the city of Lincoln?

[Mr Davey]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. There are two things I would point him to. We are helping small suppliers to compete by increasing the customer threshold for participation in schemes such as CERT and CESP—the carbon emissions reduction target and the community energy saving programme—and the warm home discount scheme. Ofgem is currently consulting on proposals for a mandatory auction in the wholesale electricity market to improve liquidity, and has recently completed a consultation on tariff simplification. All these measures will, we believe, help small suppliers in my hon. Friend’s constituency and elsewhere.