Asked by: Philip Dunne (Conservative - Ludlow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy., what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of fluctuations in the rate of electricity market pricing per megawatt hour in the last 10 years; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of inflation on those rates.
Answered by Graham Stuart
BEIS carries out regular monitoring of the wholesale market price to inform policy. Ofgem regularly publish data on wholesale electricity market prices.
As has widely been noted, the recent increase in electricity market prices has largely been driven by an increase in the wholesale market price for gas as a result of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, as opposed to wider inflation.
Asked by: Philip Dunne (Conservative - Ludlow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to provide a budget framework for Contracts for Difference auctions over the next 5 years.
Answered by Graham Stuart
BEIS has set clear overall ambitions for renewables deployment to 2030 and beyond. Contracts for Difference Budgets are determined on a round by round basis based on requirements set out in the Energy Act 2013. In 2017, HM Treasury set out the Control for Low Carbon Levies which provides a budget framework for low carbon levies including Contracts for Difference.
Asked by: Philip Dunne (Conservative - Ludlow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 1 June 2022 to Question 7959 on Energy Company Obligation, what assessment he has made of the levels of compliance of licensed (a) gas and (b) electricity suppliers with the Energy Company Obligation scheme since 1 April 2022; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Greg Hands
Compliance for obligated energy suppliers is monitored by the scheme administrator, Ofgem. Ofgem works with suppliers to communicate rules for installing energy efficiency measures.
Ofgem run monthly compliance checks to ensure that what has been delivered to date is eligible and compliant under the scheme. They will make a final decision on all installations at final determination of the ECO3 scheme – the most recent iteration of the scheme – later this year and make a final decision on each supplier’s compliance with their obligation. Those found non-compliant may face Enforcement Action.
A written Ministerial statement will be issued once the draft Statutory Instrument for ECO4 is laid.
Asked by: Philip Dunne (Conservative - Ludlow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 1 June 2022 to Question 7959 on Energy Company Obligation, what plans he has to (a) lay and (b) secure Parliamentary approval of the secondary legislation implementing the ECO4 scheme before expiry of the interim delivery phase; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government is working quickly to lay regulations as early as possible. A Written Ministerial Statement will be issued once the draft Statutory Instrument is laid.
Asked by: Philip Dunne (Conservative - Ludlow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress has been made on taking steps to support residents of park homes without a domestic energy supply contract with the cost of their energy bills following the conclusion of the scheme’s technical consultation.
Answered by Greg Hands
As set out in the consultation, households without a domestic electricity supply contract are not eligible for the scheme and the Government is exploring options for other ways in which they might receive similar support. Responses to the consultation are being analysed and the Government response will be published later in the summer.
Asked by: Philip Dunne (Conservative - Ludlow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 1 June 2022 to Question 7959 on Energy Company Obligation, what statutory provisions in force (a) between December 2018 and March 2022 and (b) since April 2022 require energy suppliers to install energy efficiency measures under the Energy Company Obligation scheme.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) Order 2018 required obligated energy suppliers to install heating and energy efficiency measures between December 2018 and March 2022.
Since April 2022, a statutory provision has not been in place. Installations under ECO have continued under transitional arrangements that were announced in the ECO4 Government response; primarily via ECO3 interim delivery, as referred to in the answer I gave the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion on 1 June 2022 to Question 7959.
Asked by: Philip Dunne (Conservative - Ludlow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to incentivise the use of renewable liquid fuels such as hydrotreated vegetable oil in home heating.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Department has recently published a Call for Evidence to inform the development of the Biomass Strategy. This strategy will review the amount of sustainable biomass available to the UK, including liquid biofuels, and how this could be best used across the economy to achieve our net zero target. It will also assess the UK’s current biomass sustainability standards, which are some of the most stringent in the world, to see where and how we can improve them even further.