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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to decrease the level of energy dependence on gas.

We are investing in new power generation technologies in order to support the economy and continue to be a world leader in tackling climate change. Renewables accounted for 25% of UK power in 2016, and half of our generation was low-carbon, a record high. We need a sustained programme to upgrade our energy infrastructure to replace old and inefficient generation plant that is coming to the end of its life. Whilst some retiring plant will be replaced by new low carbon capacity, gas has a role to play to maintain capacity adequacy and provide flexibility. This is not only the Government’s view, but that of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC).

Nuclear is also key to ensuring continued energy security and availability in the UK. It is a central tenet of our energy policy that diversity of supply assures security of supply. Whether we are considering the numbers of different suppliers of our gas, or in this case the number of different technologies we rely on for power, maintaining our diverse sources of supply is important.

We are also taking steps to help British homes and industry become more efficient. The Clean Growth Strategy includes numerous steps to help change the way we heat our homes and power our electricity grid. The Renewable Heat Incentive is a support scheme designed to help bridge the gap between the cost of fossil fuels and renewable and low carbon heat, and is open to homes and businesses across Great Britain.