Energy Update

Mark Pawsey Excerpts

Monday 5th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Greg Hands]

The closure was a commercial decision, made by Centrica, not a decision made by the Government.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

The Energy Minister has a well-deserved reputation for getting things done, and I thank him for the prompt responses he has given to inquiries that I have made to his office, especially in respect of businesses. I sense that he understands the challenges, such as for the small engineering business I visited last week whose energy bill is £13,000 a year currently, and which has had a range of quotes between £37,000 and £68,000 for the renewal of its contract. The staff tell me that means that in the coming year they may not be able to replace a machine or take on a couple of apprentices as they would like to do. He has told us about the details that will be coming on short-term support—I am sure businesses will welcome that when it arrives—but I wonder whether he would say a little more about the long-term proposals to decouple the electricity bills from the gas price.

[Greg Hands]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. He is truly a champion of businesses in his constituency and across the country; I know the important work he does on the Select Committee on Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for example. He is right, in that most of the energy of businesses in this country is dealt with through long-term contracts. That is an advantage in giving certainty, but when it is time for the long-term contract to be extended or renewed that can lead to a very concerning rise in the price of that contract. The Government are keenly aware of that and it is absolutely something that our new Prime Minister and the team overall will be looking at.