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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their reported plans to subsidise power stations which provide guaranteed emergency electricity supply when needed on winter weekday evenings, what estimate they have made of the length of time it will take coal and nuclear power stations to reach guaranteed output capacity; and how much notice these power stations will be given of the additional demand.

Where capacity margins narrow beyond a pre-determined threshold, automated Capacity Market Notices are issued to the market providing 4 hours advance notice that additional capacity may be required.

Before bidding into the Capacity Market, participants must ensure they would be able to meet all the obligations that would fall to them in the event of successfully securing a Capacity Market agreement. Failure to fulfil these obligations during a stress event would result in clear and pre-determined penalties.