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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Single Energy Area for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will continue in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a withdrawal agreement on 31 October 2019.

It is the UK Government’s position that by far the best outcome for electricity in Northern Ireland is to maintain the Single Electricity Market (SEM). The UK is committed to seeking to maintain the SEM in any scenario and will therefore take all possible measures to do so.  Both the Ireland and Northern Ireland energy regulators have stated that they expect the SEM to continue if the UK leaves the EU without a withdrawal agreement. We will continue to work with the Irish Government to ensure that technical, operational and legal arrangements are in place for the SEM to continue in this scenario.