Asked by: Lord Risby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for prioritising the digitalisation of small and medium enterprises to support the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the importance of digitalisation amongst small and medium enterprises, and has a number of programmes which support this. Within BEIS, the Small Business Leadership Programme and Peer-to-Peer networks promote the acquisition of digital skills, whilst the Business Basics programme has provided valuable insights and evidence as to both the practical barriers and opportunities for small and medium enterprises in the adoption of productivity-enhancing technologies. The Made Smarter pilot scheme in the North West has supported manufacturing companies to adopt new Industry 4.0 technologies, both through matched grant funding and independent, expert advice.
Further initiatives focussed on digitalisation are led or supported by other government departments. These include Digital Boost, a platform which matches organisations with digital experts offering free advice, supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. In addition, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced £20m in July 2020 to help small and medium-sized businesses acquire new technology and seek advice on digital adoption in order to continue or diversify their business activities in light of the pandemic. This is provided through grants of between £1000 and £5000, and is fully funded by the Government with no obligation for businesses themselves to contribute financially.
Asked by: Lord Risby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on UK natural gas demand of (1) the Carbon Price Floor, and (2) the proposal to end power generation from coal by 2025.
Answered by Lord Henley
UK gas demand is made up of several components of which demand for power generation contributes approximately a third of the total. Whilst Carbon Price Support (CPS) and our policy to end unabated coal generation by 2025 may result in some coal to gas switching, overall gas demand for electricity generation has fallen by 8% and total UK gas demand has decreased by about 20% over the period from 2000 to 2016.[1]
CPS is a tax on carbon emitted from the burning of fossil fuels by electricity generators in Great Britain. It was introduced in 2013 to provide long term certainty on the overall carbon price and supporting investment in low-carbon generation, including nuclear. In 2012 coal represented 40% (136 TWh) of generation, down to 9% (30 TWh) in 2016. Some of this capacity will have been replaced by gas with gas generation increasing from 28% (98 TWh) to 42% (141 TWh) of total generation, but there has also been an increase of renewable generation from 14% (51 TWh) to 23% (79TWh) of total generation.
Coal closure policy is intended to not only reduce harmful emissions, but also to increase revenue certainty for investment in low carbon and flexible generation capacity, and demonstrate international climate policy leadership. The department’s impact assessment for coal closure policy[2], estimates that around 1.5GW of coal capacity would remain on the system post 2025 in the absence intervention, and thus the direct impact on gas demand is expected to be limited.
[1] Energy statistics in this response are from Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/digest-of-uk-energy-statistics-dukes
[2] The Future of Coal Generation in Great Britain Impact assessment - https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/671959/FINAL_updated_unabated_coal_Impact_Assessment_Jan_2018.pdf
Asked by: Lord Risby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill on energy securiy in Great Britain.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill requires that, in setting the price cap, Ofgem have regard to, among other things, the need to ensure an efficient supplier’s ability to finance its supply activities. The price cap does not cover generation and therefore will not impact on security of supply.
The Capacity Market is at the heart of the Government’s plans for a reliable energy system, and is providing the right investment incentives for a mix of secure electricity capacity in the UK. Following four successful main auctions, and the early auction, the Capacity Market has already secured the bulk of the electricity we need from the current winter through to 2021/2022.
The design of the Capacity Market drives fierce competition, creating good value outcomes for consumers. The latest auction cleared at only £8.40/kW, making it the cheapest main auction so far.
For gas, the UK benefits from a highly diverse and flexible system of supply sources, including indigenous production, imports from Norway and the continuent, storage and liquefied natural gas imports, all of which contribute to a diverse and liquid market which is responsive enough to meet demand even during periods of extreme weather.
Asked by: Lord Risby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill on investment in the development of future (1) power, and (2) gas supplies, in the UK.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill is clear that Ofgem must have regard to the need to ensure that holders of supply licences who operate efficiently are able to finance activities authorised by the licence. It would be for the independent regulator, Ofgem, to make its assessment of efficient operations. Ofgem is not required to have regard to investment projects that are outside the scope of the activities authorised by the supply licence.
Asked by: Lord Risby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they sought from (1) Ofgem, and (2) the Competition and Markets Authority, ahead of the Prime Minister's announcement in October 2017 of an energy tariff cap.
Answered by Lord Henley
Ministers and officials in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy seek advice from stakeholders on a range of issues.
My noble Friend will be aware that, on a referral from Ofgem, the Competition and Markets Authority carried out an extensive investigation into the energy market in which it found that customers of the Big 6 energy suppliers are suffering an average annual detriment of around £1.4bn due to overcharging and supplier inefficiencies.
Asked by: Lord Risby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish the assessment made of the costs and benefits of including a clause in the Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill to allow organisations a right of appeal to the Competions and Markets Authority.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Bill requires Ofgem to consult on its proposal for setting the level of the price cap, and to have regard to the need to ensure that an efficient supplier can finance their licenced supply activities.
A route of appeal against Ofgem’s decision would be available via judicial review.
The Government is not in a position to assess or comment on the likely costs and benefits that might be incurred by third parties in relation to hypothetical legal challenges.
Asked by: Lord Risby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the proportion of UK gas demand that could be met from UK-sourced shale gas.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has not made any estimates on the proportion of UK gas demand that could be met from UK-sourced shale gas. We do not yet know how much shale gas it will be possible to technologically and commercially extract from UK shale reserves. To determine the potential of the industry and the benefits it could bring the UK, we need exploration to go ahead and Government is supportive of this.
Asked by: Lord Risby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of UK-sourced shale gas to the energy security of the UK.
Answered by Lord Henley
In October 2017, the Government published a report summarising gas security, including consideration of the role of shale gas, over the next 20 years, available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gas-security-of-supply-strategic-assessment-and-review
Asked by: Lord Risby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the volume of shale gas and oil that will have been produced by (1) 2020, and (2) 2025.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has not made any estimates of the volume of gas and oil that will have been produced by 2020 and 2025.
Asked by: Lord Risby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of shale gas and oil wells that will have been hydraulically fractured by (1) 2020, and (2) 2025.
Answered by Lord Henley
Based on information provided by industry dating from 2016, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy previously estimated in 2017 that there could be around 17 wells in 2020 and 155 wells by around 2025. These figures are now considered to be out of date.