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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that Northern Ireland has security of energy supply.

Energy policy in Northern Ireland is largely a devolved matter under the responsibility for the Northern Ireland Executive.

In relation to electricity, the Single Electricity Market (SEM) is an example of North-South cooperation that has benefited consumers and the economies of Northern Ireland and Ireland and supports the stability of energy supply on the island of Ireland. The Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol to the Withdrawal Agreement provides the basis for the SEM to continue after January 2021. Within the SEM, the Capacity Remuneration Mechanism helps ensure that generation capacity is sufficient to meet demand. The Moyle Interconnector, linking electricity markets in Northern Ireland and Great Britain, also strengthens Northern Ireland’s security of supply, and the proposed North-South Interconnector between Ireland and Northern Ireland will further enhance this.

In relation to gas, the UK gas market is one of the world’s most developed and provides security from highly diverse and flexible sources of gas supply. Over the past 10 years, analysis undertaken by the UK Government and others has delivered a consistent message: the gas system is secure in the face of all but the most extreme and unlikely shocks.