Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of a coordinated shutdown of photovoltaic inverters manufactured by companies headquartered in China on UK power grid stability.

Recognising the importance of renewable and smart energy systems for flexibility and decarbonisation, the department is working to ensure the system continues to be secure by design, and protects energy supply, infrastructure and consumers. As part of this work, Government has published two consultation packages which sets out proposals for minimum security and grid stability requirements, including for organisations remotely controlling electrical load.

Maintaining security of energy supplies is a key priority and critical energy operators are required to meet a minimum standard of cyber security and resilience, through the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018. Distributed and smaller-scale generation are key components of a smart and resilient energy system.