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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to take steps to increase the (a) grid and (b) local cable capacities in order to better facilitate (i) more electric cars in the UK and (b) demand for domestic heating.

The Government is committed to accelerating the delivery of electricity network infrastructure to accommodate new sources of clean electricity generation and demand, as set out, jointly with Ofgem, in the Electricity Networks Strategic Framework.

Ofgem’s upcoming distribution network price control provides £22.2bn in baseline funding including £3.1bn for network upgrades, supporting the expected uptake in electric vehicles and heat pumps. Large upfront funding, combined with an agile price control system for net zero related expenditure, should enable the investment in network infrastructure needed to facilitate heat and transport electrification.