Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
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 the use of woody biomass as feedstock for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage on (a) global land use and (b) the availability of land for growing crops.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
To ensure that bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) delivers genuine negative emissions, Government will require that only sustainable biomass is used. The 2023 Biomass Strategy included an assessment of sustainable biomass availability to the UK (including woody biomass), to support the UK’s net zero target. The availability of sustainable woody biomass was estimated using updated modelling which included considerations of global land use to exclude unsustainable changes, as well as accounting for wider land use pressures such as food security and biodiversity.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will update her Department’s greenhouse gas removals business model to include (a) enhanced rock weathering and (b) other technologies that do not use carbon capture and storage.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the potential role of greenhouse gas removal (GGR) technologies that do not require carbon capture and storage (CCS) in meeting net zero, including enhanced rock weathering, though specific technical and regulatory barriers must be addressed before any decisions can be made on their eligibility for the GGR business model. As set out in the Government response to the GGR business model consultation, published in June 2023, this includes the need for further evidence on permanence, reversibility, and environmental impacts associated with these methods.
The Government is working closely with academics, industry, and the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) GGR Demonstrator projects to investigate the feasibility of scaling non-CCS GGR technologies in future.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the impartiality of Ofgem.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Ofgem is established in statute as the independent regulator for gas and electricity markets in Great Britain. As the independent regulator, Ofgem takes its regulatory decisions independently and within its regulatory powers it is free to decide on the most appropriate regulatory approach to a particular issue.
The Government recently published its consultation on a Strategy and Policy Statement for Energy Policy in Great Britain. This document reinforces Ofgem’s independence as a regulator, while also providing guidance to Ofgem on delivering the Government’s energy priorities.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to reduce regional disparities in Standing Charges for electricity.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The standing charge includes some electricity distribution costs, which vary regionally to reflect the different costs of maintaining and upgrading the distribution network in different regions. Unique geographic factors mean that electricity distribution costs are markedly higher in the North of Scotland than elsewhere in Great Britain. To protect consumers in the North of Scotland from these costs, the government reaffirmed its commitment in January 2023 to the Hydro Benefit Replacement Scheme. This government scheme provides an annual cross subsidy of over £90 million to reduce related charges in the region.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions his Department has had with (a) Ofgem, (b) energy companies and (c) consumer groups on reducing daily unit rates.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Ministers have regular engagement with Ofgem, energy suppliers and consumer groups.
Daily unit rates for default electricity and gas tariffs are capped by the price cap, which is set by Ofgem, and further reduced by the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an estimate of the average number of days that elapse between a direct debit payment being taken from a customer's account by an energy supplier and the issuance of an Energy Bill Support Scheme payment to that customer.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Direct debit (DD) customers are receiving their monthly Energy Bills Support Scheme payments from electricity suppliers either as a reduction to the DD amount collected, or as a refund to the customer’s bank account following the DD collection. The Direction for the scheme requires that any such refunds are issued immediately after taking the usual DD payment from the customer. Suppliers are required to report to government on delivery and data is being published monthly. No data has been collated specifically on the average number of days between a DD payment and the EBSS discount being applied.