Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Energy Prices Bill, whether he will exempt (a) co-operatively and (b) consumer owned wind farms from the proposed revenue cap.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government will shortly be consulting on the Cost-Plus Revenue Limit so interested and affected parties can have their say on the scope, design and application of the proposal.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of delivering a fossil fuel-free electricity system by 2030.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is already enabling the transition of the electricity system to low emissions, as part of delivering Net Zero by 2050. 95% of British electricity could be low-carbon by 2030. This transition cannot be at the expense of security of supply, a critical consideration as the use of fossil fuels reduces and the system relies more on renewables.
The Government will continue to assess its progress in power sector decarbonization, including when responding to the annual progress report from the Climate Change Committee next year, taking account of the finding of the independent review of net zero.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government's energy rebate scheme that is provided to domestic consumers will also be made available to (a) YMCA and (b) other housing charities which have a centralised contract for energy in their hostels.
Answered by Graham Stuart
For all eligible non-domestic customers, including businesses and those in the public and voluntary sector, the Energy Bill Relief Scheme will provide a discount on energy bills for those organisations whose current gas and electricity prices have been significantly inflated in light of global energy prices. This includes establishments such as youth hostels and housing charities on non-domestic tariffs, and the Government expect such establishments to pass on the benefits under the scheme through to the people who live in this kind of accommodation in a reasonable and proportionate way.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what additional support he is providing for (a) young and (b) vulnerable people who live in (i) hostels and (ii) supported accommodation with energy costs within their personal service charge.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme will provide a discount on energy bills for all eligible non-domestic customers whose current gas and electricity prices have been significantly inflated in light of global energy prices. This includes establishments such as hostels and supported accommodation on non-domestic tariffs. The Government expect such businesses to pass on the benefits under this scheme to the people who live in this kind of accommodation in a reasonable and proportionate way.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what targeted support he is providing to charities to help with the rising cost of energy.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme was announced on 21 September 2022, initially running for 6 months covering energy use from 1 October 2022 until 31 March 2023. The Government will provide a discount on energy bills for all eligible non-domestic customers, including businesses, the voluntary sector and public sector, whose current gas and electricity prices have been significantly inflated in light of global energy prices.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
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 is taking steps to include residential care homes in the domestic energy price cap.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Those care home residents that pay individually for their energy, i.e. they have their own gas and/or electricity meters, will be captured by the domestic energy price cap. Whereas, the care home itself will be captured by the non-domestic scheme if energy bills are paid for centrally by the business running the care home. The Department will soon introduce legislation to ensure the cost savings are passed on to residents.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a cap on energy standing charges.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The standing charge reflects the on-going costs that fall on a supplier to provide and maintain a live supply to a customer’s premises. Standing charges are capped under the price cap and ensure millions of households pay a fair price for their energy.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of availability of electricity contracts for new hospitality businesses.
Answered by Graham Stuart
There is no obligation on energy suppliers to offer terms to non-domestic customers. When offering terms, suppliers will likely take account of factors such as: the costs of supplying energy to the customer, the customer’s credit history and the circumstances of the sector in which they operate.
On 21 September the government announced the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, which will provide a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices for all non-domestic customers. Further information is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-outlines-plans-to-help-cut-energy-bills-for-businesses .
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
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 is taking steps to ensure that people using communal heat networks will be covered by the energy price cap.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government wants heat network consumers to receive equivalent support to mains gas and electricity consumers. Therefore, on 21 September, the Energy Bill Relief Scheme was announced which will see energy prices for non-domestic energy customers such as businesses, charities and public sector organisations cut – protecting them from rising energy costs. These discounted prices for wholesale gas and electricity will ensure lower prices for customers on communal heat networks.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
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 support the glass industry.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is determined to secure a competitive future for energy intensive industries (EIIs) including the glass industry. In recent years, the Government has provided EIIs with extensive support, including more than £2 billion to help with the costs of energy and to protect jobs. The British Energy Security Strategy announced the three-year extension of the EII Compensation Scheme, doubling its budget. The Strategy also announced a consultation on plans to consider increasing support offered by the related EII Exemption Scheme. That consultation closed on the 16 September and the Government will respond in due course.