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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of forecasts that the UK’s coal-fired electricity will fall by two thirds this year, what steps are being taken to ensure that the overall energy capacity will be sufficient to meet demand this winter.

Keeping the lights on is non-negotiable for this government. National Grid has the tools they need to manage the system and we will ensure that they continue to do so in future. For winter 2016/17, this includes 3.5GW of Supplemental Balancing Reserve which is available to be called on if required. This contributes to a forecast electricity margin 29% higher than the margin we had last winter.