Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of Roll-Royce's decision not to open a pressure vessel manufacturing facility to support the delivery of small modular reactors.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Nuclear vendors’ supply chain decisions are a matter for themselves to take. The Government has high ambitions for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) - the Great British Nuclear-led SMR selection process is to be both robust and the fastest competition of its kind in the world, enabling operational SMRs by the mid-2030s.
Alongside the range of other activities across the nuclear programme, this is a really exciting time for nuclear, which is creating significant supply chain opportunities.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy's press release entitled UK backs new small nuclear technology with £210 million, published on 9 November 2021, what estimate she has made of the projected return on investment of the Government's support to Rolls-Royce SMR.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Under the Low Cost Nuclear programme, the Government has given a grant of up to £210 million to Rolls-Royce SMR Ltd to support development of the Rolls Royce Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design, potentially capable of deployment in the UK in the early 2030s. The value for money of the Low Cost Nuclear programme was assessed against Green Book principles as part of normal approvals processes ahead of the grant award.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy's press release entitled UK backs new small nuclear technology with £210 million, published on 9 November 2021, what the cost to the public purse is of Government support to Rolls Royce SMR since 2021; and if she will make an estimate of the level of future funding they are forecast to receive by 2035.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Under the Low Cost Nuclear programme, the Government has given a grant of up to £210 million to Rolls-Royce SMR Ltd to support development of the Rolls Royce Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design to complete the Generic Design Assessment Step Two. The Rolls Royce SMR is potentially capable of deployment in the UK in the early 2030s. Grant payments are disbursed in arrears subject to Rolls-Royce SMR providing supporting evidence to the grant administrator, UK Research and Innovation. There have been no commitments made for future funding after the Low Cost Nuclear programme.
Separately, Rolls Royce SMR is one of six vendors in the Great British Nuclear SMR Technology Selection Process which have been invited to submit tenders for technology partner contracts. The total funding made available to successful bidders will be subject to tender evaluation and approval of the full business case.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
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:
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
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:
SCS1 | 1 |
G6 | 3 |
G7 | 15 |
SEO | 47 |
HEO | 22 |
EO | 11 |
AO | 3 |
Total | 102 |
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
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.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
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.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
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.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
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.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
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.