Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2024 to Question 26615 on Energy: Debts, what is the (a) sum, (b) quantum and (c) value of the element of the Default Tariff Cap allocated by Ofgem for consumer debt held by suppliers.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
Ofgem includes an ‘adjustment allowance’ in the price cap calculation to account for elements such as consumer debt. In the April-June 2024 price cap, the amount is £28 per typical domestic customer bill per year.
Ofgem publishes price cap calculations on its website: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/energy-policy-and-regulation/policy-and-regulatory-programmes/energy-price-cap-default-tariff-policy/energy-price-cap-default-tariff-levels
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of the Net Zero Research and Innovation Delivery Plan on the UK's target to become a science and technology superpower by 2030.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The Net Zero Research & Innovation Delivery Plan supports the UK's target to become a science and technology superpower by setting out government investment of approximately £4.2 billion in research and innovation that is directed towards creating strategic advantage in net zero technologies and aims to boost private sector investment in this space. This investment forms a key part of the government's commitment to increase public expenditure on R&D to £20 billion per annum by 2024/2025 and helps maintain the UK's spend on R&D in this space compared to other leading OECD countries.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 15 May 2024 to Question 25717 and to the Answer of 10 May 2024 to Question 24573 on Energy: Debts, whether an allowance for servicing consumer debt was permitted by Ofgem in any period before April 2024.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) has never included an allowance for bad debt held by suppliers. All funding was used to apply a unit rate discount to household tariffs.
Ofgem have always included within the standing charges element of the Default Tariff Cap (Price Cap) some element to account for consumer debt held by suppliers.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 10 May 2024 to Question 24573 on Energy: Debts, whether any additional sums were previously included in the Energy Price Guarantee to cover (a) bad debt, (b) debt administration and (c) working capital.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The Energy Price Guarantee provided a unit rate discount on the price of energy for all households with a domestic gas and/or electricity contract, so within this support structure there was no scope for including additional funding for energy debt.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 1 May 2024 to Question 23954 on Energy: Debts, what allowance for servicing consumer debt is permitted by Ofgem in setting the level of the Default Tariff Cap.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
Ofgem has announced a one-off price cap adjustment of £28 (equivalent to around £2.33 per month) to be applied between April 2024 and March 2025 for direct debit and standard credit customers. This is intended to enable suppliers to recover reasonable costs as a result of increased levels of bad debt, ensuring the retail energy market remains resilient and suppliers are able to offer consumers an appropriate level of support in managing their debts.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 26 April 2024 to Question 23316, whether energy charges by suppliers to consumers include debt servicing.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The setting of tariffs is a commercial matter for each energy supplier. However, in setting the level of the Default Tariff Cap Ofgem include an allowance for servicing consumer debt. This allowance is intended to enable suppliers to recover reasonable costs incurred for servicing consumer debt and ensure that suppliers can offer consumers an appropriate level of support in managing their debts, whilst ensuring the retail energy market remains resilient.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much and what proportion of the Energy Price Cap is allocated for debt servicing by suppliers.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The setting of the energy price cap rates each quarter is a matter for Ofgem.
Ofgem has published a breakdown of the price cap: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/energy-price-cap
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what criteria was used to calculate the sums allocated for debt servicing by suppliers within the Energy Price Guarantee.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
There was no allocation for debt servicing within the Energy Price Guarantee.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made an estimate her Department of the potential (a) quantity of and (b) proportion of the total UK oil supplies that will come from Ineos development in Antwerp.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has not assessed potential supply from the development in Antwerp. Import countries of origin are published monthly in Energy Trends Table 3.14: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/oil-and-oil-products-section-3-energy-trends. The Department does not collect data on facility of origin.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what information his Department holds on oil imported from Indian refineries but originating in Russia to (a) all UK refineries and (b) Grangemouth Refinery.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department collects data on the country of origin and country of despatch of every oil cargo arriving in the UK. The definition for country of origin is in line with international reporting requirements and existing UK non-preferential Rules of Origin. This means that oils must be subject to substantial processing requirements as stated in Section 17(3) of the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018. In line with these rules, oil products refined in a third country will be considered as originating from that country.
National imports data are published in Energy Trends Table 3.14: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/oil-and-oil-products-section-3-energy-trends.
Individual refinery data are commercially sensitive and not published or otherwise made publicly available by the Department.