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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the upcoming Contract for Difference Auction Round 4 on energy bills.

The Government is committed to minimising energy costs for businesses and consumers. Contracts for Difference offer value-for-money to consumers and continue to deliver low prices. For example, between the first allocation round in 2015 and the last round in 2019, the price per unit (MWh) of offshore wind fell by around 65%.

Competitive auctions are proven to be effective in helping to keep costs down and this year’s auction has been designed to keep the allocation process highly competitive. The impact will be dependent on the outcome of the competitive auction process; it is expected that this year’s round will have a small impact on household bills.