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 effect on energy consumers in the Highlands of charges relating to distribution network operations being applied to energy companies.

Ofgem’s assessment of regional differences in network charges, which was published in October 2015, concluded that there is no concentration of vulnerable consumers in any one particular distribution network region. Nonetheless, the Government recognises that electricity distribution costs are higher for the North of Scotland than any other region, and that is why the Hydro Benefit Replacement Scheme is providing an assistance amount of £59m in 2017/18 to reduce distribution charges there. The Government reviews this scheme every three years, in line with a statutory requirement.