Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans the Government has to ensure that UK consumers can benefit from the cheapest sources of electricity.

The design of the Capacity Market drives fierce competition with existing and new resources, of all technology types, competing together. These auctions allow the market to identify which technology type is cost efficient in delivering security of supply, creating good value outcomes for consumers. Similarly, the recent Contracts for Difference allocation round for low carbon generation has demonstrated that the costs of offshore wind have fallen significantly, driven by sustained competition for support.

We are also supporting an increase in Britain’s interconnection capacity by ensuring a stable regime under which interconnector developers can bring forward projects to enable access to cheaper electricity from Europe at times of peak demand.