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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the viability of peer-to-peer energy sharing; and whether his Department plans to support this technology.

Innovative technologies such as peer-to-peer energy trading could provide many new opportunities and there are a number of ongoing trials in this field, some of which are supported by InnovateUK and Government innovation funding. There are over 120 future systems projects across the UK, including those as part of the newly announced Government funded ‘Prospering from the Energy Revolution’.

The joint Government and Ofgem Future Energy Retail Market Review is reviewing the design of the energy retail market to promote competition and drive innovation by introducing further flexibility into the regulatory framework. This will consider the barriers preventing innovative business models entering the market, including peer-to-peer.