Electricity Generation

Lord Bishop of Chester Excerpts

Thursday 8th January 2015 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[The Lord Bishop of Chester]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of United Kingdom electricity consumption was generated abroad in the last year for which statistics are available.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Baroness Verma) (Con)]

My Lords, between October 2013 and September 2014, electricity imported into the United Kingdom was 7% of total electricity consumption. Electricity interconnection strengthens our security of supply and can lead to lower bills. Its flexibility supports renewable electricity generation. Greater interconnection means we can export excess power and import at times of stress.

[The Lord Bishop of Chester]

I thank the noble Baroness for that reply, although 7% seems quite a large figure. What assumptions are made for the availability of imported electricity to meet our peak demand? What contractual agreements are in place to undergird the availability of that supply?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the right reverend Prelate raises an important issue about making sure that we have supply available all the time. The investment framework we have introduced means that we are getting on board two new interconnectors. They will make their final investment decisions this March. We realise that we need to do much more and that is why we have looked at the interconnectors as part of a programme that enables energy supply when it is needed most.