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 has made an assessment of the potential merits for consumers of national grid privatisation.

Network costs are now 17 per cent lower than at the time of privatisation (excluding inflation). Operating efficiency has increased, for example, real unit operating expenditure has fallen by approximately 5.5 per cent, per annum across the electricity distribution networks since privatisation. Capital investment in the electricity networks is higher on average than the period immediately prior to privatisation. The improvements this paid for have reduced power cuts by around 40 per cent since 2002. There are also record levels of customer satisfaction with local electricity and gas distribution networks.