Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to increase the connectivity of metal recycling yards to the national energy grid.

The Government is working with Ofgem and network companies to release network capacity and improve the connections process, which will reduce timescales for all types of connections, including metal recycling yards. Building on this work, the Government and Ofgem will publish a connections action plan in the summer.

Ofgem have also decided that electricity demand customers, such as metal recycling yards, submitting a connection application after 1 April 2023 will no longer be charged for any distribution network reinforcement costs to accommodate their connection, reducing the cost of connecting.