Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if his Department will estimate the potential change in annual household energy bills arising from government subsidies to Drax for biomass power generation over the next 13 years.

We currently support two units of Drax under the Renewables Obligation (RO), one as a full conversion, the other as an enhanced co-firing unit. One further unit has been awarded a contract under Final Investment Decision Enabling for Renewables (FIDeR). Government spending on levy funded support for low carbon electricity, including renewables, is capped by the Levy Control Framework (LCF), thereby helping to minimise the impact on consumer bills.

An estimate of the cost of support for renewable electricity generation by Drax cannot be provided as such information would allow the determination of operational factors which are commercially confidential.