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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure adequate capacity in the rural electricity network to support the planned replacement of traditional boilers with heat pumps for off-grid properties.

The Government and Ofgem jointly published an Electricity Networks Strategic Framework on 4 August 2022, which sets out a vision for the transformation of the electricity network as decarbonise and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Network regulation, including ensuring that the rural electricity network has sufficient capacity to meet demand is a matter for Ofgem. The Government engages regularly with Ofgem and electricity network operators to discuss their plans to support connections of low carbon technologies, including heat pumps for off-grid properties.