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 to increase exports of electricity through new and existing interconnectors.

The Government stated in the 2016 Budget that it supports at least 9 gigawatts of additional interconnection, and noted that there is likely to be merit in more depending on the market being connected to. We have three projects under construction and three more with regulatory approval, which together could add 7.7 gigawatts of interconnection capacity by 2022. In addition to this, there are a number of new projects coming forward seeking regulatory approval. Ofgem is currently assessing whether these projects are in the interests of British consumers.