Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January to Question 120157, what financial support the Government has provided to (a) the operators of Hawthorn Pit and (b) Drax for the cabling from Peterhead and Torness.

Financial support for network infrastructure projects, including the Peterhead and Torness projects, is regulated by Ofgem as the independent energy regulator through the ‘RIIO’ price controls. While the government engages with Ofgem and network operators regularly, decisions on network investment are a matter for Ofgem. The Government welcomes strategic transmission network projects and their acceleration to support the 2030 offshore wind ambition, as set out in Ofgem’s Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment framework.