Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to address grid capacity in order to support the electrification of bus depots and garages; and if so, what is their timescale for doing so.

The Government works closely with local areas and bus operators to ensure issues and concerns with bus electrification are fully understood, and best practice is shared.

More widely, the Government is committed to expanding the electricity network to support the Clean Energy Superpower mission and is working closely with Ofgem and industry to mobilise the required investment at the scale and pace required. Price controls set by Ofgem ensure network companies are investing in infrastructure build, as well as smart management of network assets, to ensure the network has sufficient capacity.

Under the current distribution (low voltage) price control covering 2023-2028, Ofgem has allowed £22.2bn for upfront network investment, including £3.1bn for network upgrades which will help the grid to be ready for changing infrastructure needs.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has also announced that the newly formed National Energy System Operator has been asked to produce the first strategic spatial plan for energy, and it is also looking at reforming the connection process. Both those actions will help bus operators.