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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with representatives of the National Grid on its capacity to store and supply electricity to support the planned increase in the number of electric cars.

Officials within BEIS have regular engagement with National Grid to discuss issues around the increased uptake of electric vehicles, most recently in the context of the Office for Low Emission Vehicles’ (OLEV) recent consultation on the phase out of internal combustion engine cars and vans.

BEIS officials also engage with National Grid over their production of the annual Future Energy Scenarios (FES), looking ahead to 2050 to show what the future of energy in GB might look like. The latest FES includes projections of increase in annual electricity demand due to a combination of emerging technologies, including electric vehicles, and highlights the key impact of flexibility services associated with electric vehicles in meeting this future required demand.