Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to help support British heat pump manufacturers.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is supporting heat pump manufacturers through the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator Competition, which will provide up to £30m in grant funding for manufacturers to create new, or expand or repurpose existing, factories to produce heat pumps and key components. The Competition is expected to create capacity for up to 270,000 heat pumps a year and support up to 1,000 jobs.
Heat pump manufacturers can also take advantage of other incentives offered by Government for industry as a whole, such as investment zones which can provide direct and indirect support such as a range of tax reliefs.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of gas and electricity suppliers' licence obligation to inspect their customers’ meters.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Licensing is matter for the expert independent regulator, Ofgem. Licence conditions require that a customer’s bill is based on the best available metering information, and that where a supplier visits a customer’s premises, staff are properly trained to carry out such visits safely and effectively. Suppliers must take all reasonable steps to obtain meter readings at least annually.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of energy tariff standing charges on small businesses.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Ofgem issued a Call for Input on standing charges which closed on 20 January 2024. It included an invitation to submit views on the issues affecting standing charges in the non-domestic retail sector. Ofgem are currently analysing responses and reviewing the make-up and structure of standing charges.
The Government recognises that businesses are facing pressure through their energy bills. That is why on 30 March 2024, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State and I wrote to Ofgem, highlighting the importance of keeping standing charges as low as possible.
https://twitter.com/ClaireCoutinho/status/1774001008953217079
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Green Heat Network fund in supporting shared ground loop deployment in rural off-gas grid areas.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
I refer my hon Friend to the answer I gave on 21 March 2024 to my hon Friend the Member for St Ives (Derek Thomas) to Question UIN 18922.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to help support the deployment of shared ground loops in rural areas.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme provides grants of £7,500 to support the installation of air source, ground source and water source heat pumps including plants installed as part of a shared ground loop. We are increasing the shared ground loops system capacity limit in May from 45kW to 300kW to address the concerns that groundworks for ground source heat pumps are a significant barrier to deployment.
Shared ground loop installations which satisfy the eligibility criteria for the Green Heat Network Fund can apply to the scheme for support. To be eligible, applicants must demonstrate that their networks can deliver a minimum of 2GWh per year of heat.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to support clean heat installations in rural areas.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government ‘help to heat’ schemes supports deployment of low carbon heating in rural areas through ECO, Wave 2 of SHDF and HUG2.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme also provides grants of £7,500 towards upfront cost and installation of air and ground source heat pumps. Up to the end of February 2024, 57% of grants paid out were for clean heat installations in rural areas
Through the Heat Network Transformation Programme, the Government is working with industry and local authorities to develop new heat networks and improve existing ones, including investing £500 million half a billion pounds in funds.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions she has had with Ofgem on trends in the level of commercial energy tariff standing charges.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
On 30 March, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State and I wrote to the Chief Executive of Ofgem, highlighting the importance of keeping standing charges as low as possible.
Ofgem launched a call for input in November 2023 on standing charges in the non-domestic and domestic retail markets, looking at how they are applied to energy bills and what alternatives could be considered. Ofgem is currently analysing the responses and will publish its response in due course.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2024 to Question 21031 on Carbon Emissions: Suffolk Coastal, if her Department will provide a breakdown of funding granted through Energy Company Obligation Schemes to residents of Suffolk Coastal constituency.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The ECO scheme is not funded directly by government, rather it is funded by obligated energy suppliers who then recoup the cost from their domestic customers. Government does not hold data on the geographical distribution of ECO spending.
To end of December 2023 (the latest available data) ECO schemes have supported the installation of 2,668 measures in 2,069 homes in the Suffolk Coastal constituency.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much and what proportion of the Energy Price Cap is allocated for debt servicing by suppliers.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The setting of the energy price cap rates each quarter is a matter for Ofgem.
Ofgem has published a breakdown of the price cap: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/energy-price-cap
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what criteria was used to calculate the sums allocated for debt servicing by suppliers within the Energy Price Guarantee.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
There was no allocation for debt servicing within the Energy Price Guarantee.