Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many staff will employed in her Department's offices in Aberdeen at grade (a) 6, (b) 7 and (c) SCS by 2027.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Aberdeen has 102 staff (as at end March 24) and our ambition is to increase this to 135 by March 2027, however this is the overall target for this location; targets are not specific to grades or staff groups.

Relocation of roles out of London is being managed via voluntary relocation of internal staff and through recruitment, therefore we are unable to predict grade composition of staff that will be based in Aberdeen in 2027.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions she has had with Ofgem on (a) the temporary increase to the price cap to pay off debt and (b) whether energy companies will use this money to reduce indebted customers’ balances.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

In England, estimates indicate that the government support provided prevented 389,000 households from becoming fuel poor in 2023.

Despite unprecedented support with bills, the Government recognises consumer energy debt as a large and growing issue and understands the cost-of-living challenges households are facing.

Ofgem has a responsibility for setting the price cap at which suppliers can recover costs they incur, and the government expects suppliers to do all they can to support customers in debt, particularly vulnerable customers.

We welcome Ofgem’s ‘Affordability and debt in the domestic retail market – call for input' published 11 March 2024 and look forward to seeing the results and Ofgem’s next course of action. Details of Ofgem’s consultation can be found here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/affordability-and-debt-domestic-retail-market-call-input

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will hold discussions with Ofgem on ensuring that energy consumers who are not in debt are not financially disadvantaged by energy companies minimising exposure to bad debt through higher standing charges.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Minsters and Officials have regular meetings with Ofgem to discuss a wide range of issues, including standing charges.

Ofgem recently sought views on standing charges and is currently analysing the responses. Further information is available at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/standing-charges-call-input .

It is not uncommon in consumer markets for companies to recover costs, such as customer debt, from their wider customer base. Otherwise, it could risk the company being inadequately funded for the services they provide, including help and support to vulnerable customers. Without adequate funding, it could also risk suppliers going insolvent, giving rise to potentially significant additional costs of a supplier of last resort or special administration regime.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will have discussions with Ofgem on ensuring that energy consumers who are not in debt are not financially disadvantaged as a result of energy companies minimising exposure to their commercial risk of bad debt through higher standing charges.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The setting of standing charges is a commercial matter for individual suppliers, within the context of Ofgem regulating aspects of standing charges. This includes setting a cap as part of the overall default tariff cap, thus ensuring millions of households pay a fair price for their energy.

Ofgem launched a call for input on standing charges, looking into how they are applied to energy bills and what alternatives could be considered, which closed in January 2024. I am supportive of Ofgem’s decision to gather evidence on the current standing charge model and will seek updates in due course. Moreover, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State and I wrote a joint letter to Ofgem in March highlighting the Government’s expectation that standing charges should be kept as low as possible.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what options are available to members of the public who wish to complain about responses provided by their local transmission operators.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Members of the public dissatisfied with the service provided by network companies can follow the established complaints procedure overseen by Ofgem. Under the procedure, they should escalate the issue within the network company first, with subsequent referral to the Energy Ombudsman or Ofgem if required. Details on the procedure are available on all network companies' and Ofgem's websites.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions she has had with Ofgem on the number of people who have yet to be assessed as eligible for compensation from energy companies for the forced installation of prepayment meters.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Suppliers have so far carried out 150,000 assessments to make sure those impacted get the compensation they deserve. Of these cases, around 2,500 customers were identified as needing compensation - and around 60% of those have received it, with payments planned for another 1,000 customers. We expect suppliers to work day and night to issue these remaining payments - there is no excuse for delay. While this is a matter for Ofgem, I have spoken to Ofgem about their responsibilities and the need for suppliers to speed up payments. I will continue to monitor this very closely.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions she has had with Ofgem on the number of people who have yet to receive compensation from energy companies for the forced installation of prepayment meters.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Suppliers have so far carried out 150,000 assessments to make sure those impacted get the compensation they deserve. Of these cases, around 2,500 customers were identified as needing compensation - and around 60% of those have received it, with payments planned for another 1,000 customers. We expect suppliers to work day and night to issue these remaining payments - there is no excuse for delay. While this is a matter for Ofgem, I have spoken to Ofgem about their responsibilities and the need for suppliers to speed up payments. I will continue to monitor this very closely.

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 compensation from energy companies to consumers for the forced installation of prepayment meters.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Suppliers have so far carried out 150,000 assessments to make sure those impacted get the compensation they deserve. Of these cases, around 2,500 customers were identified as needing compensation - and around 60% of those have received it, with payments planned for another 1,000 customers. We expect suppliers to work day and night to issue these remaining payments - there is no excuse for delay. While this is a matter for Ofgem, I have spoken to Ofgem about their responsibilities and the need for suppliers to speed up payments. I will continue to monitor this very closely.

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 24 April 2024 to Question 22389 on Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Aberdeen, what grade the 102 staff employed in her Department's offices in Aberdeen are.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The grade breakdown of current staff based in the Aberdeen office is as follows:

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing the budget for Pot 1 of the Contracts for Difference AR6 to ensure that Government targets for established technologies are met.

Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

National Grid ESO (NG ESO) is currently assessing applications to Allocation Round 6 of the Contracts for Difference scheme. Later this year, the Secretary of State will have an opportunity to review the budget following receipt of the formal valuation of applications from NG ESO.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of lowering the market reference prices for the Contracts for Difference AR6 on the (a) budget that can be allocated to projects during the auction, (b) number of projects that can be awarded in that round and (c) total capacity that will be secured through AR6.

Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The reference prices we use for the Contracts for Difference budget are an output from the Department’s main power model and are characteristic of decarbonisation pathways that are net-zero consistent.

Budgets are set based on a wide range of factors such as an assessment of the pipeline of projects that could participate in the auction, rather than being a pre-determined monetary constraint. If reference prices were higher or lower, the budget would change accordingly, and approximately the same capacity would likely be successful in the auction.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to Appendix 2 of the Contracts for Difference AR6 Allocation Framework 2024, Appendix 2 of the Contracts for Difference AR5 Allocation Framework 2023 and Appendix 2 of the Contracts for Difference AR4 Allocation Framework 2021, what methodology her Department used to calculate the market reference prices for the years 2026-27 to 2030-31; and for what reason it has been set lower than previous Contracts for Difference Allocation Rounds.

Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

As set out in the accompanying note to the Budget Notice[1], the reference prices we use for the CfD budget are an output from the Department’s main power model and are characteristic of decarbonisation pathways that are net-zero consistent. Wholesale electricity prices are driven by many factors including electricity demand profiles, the plants that generate to meet this demand, as well as fuel price assumptions and carbon price assumptions. Changes in reference prices between rounds depend on the assumptions used in power modelling and the delivery years for each allocation round.

[1] The accompanying note to the Budget Notice can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/contracts-for-difference-cfd-allocation-round-6-statutory-notices

Leith Croft Community Pavilion

UK’s national minorities

Found: Spellar MP (Labour, Warley ) Derek Twigg MP (Labour, Halton ) Tobias Ellwood MP, Robert Courts MP and Dave