Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2026 to Question 33981, what criteria her Department uses to determine whether a gas consumer is classed as a critical customer for the purposes of gas load shedding during a national gas supply emergency.

As referenced in DESNZ’s National Emergency Plan for Downstream Gas and Electricity, priority customers have their supplies prioritised for as long as practicable during a Network Gas Supply Emergency.

Priority customers include those where loss of gas could put lives at risk or cause significant damage to major industrial sites, as assessed by gas transporters; and those where loss of gas could cause serious harm to human welfare, the environment or UK security that cannot reasonably be mitigated, as assessed by DESNZ in consultation with relevant government departments.

Domestic customers are disconnected as a last resort.