Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - 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 effect of Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review on companies which have already undertaken energy efficiency measures.
Answered by Lord Henley
Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review is seeking to ensure all parties connected to the electricity network make a fair contribution to its fixed costs. As was outlined in the ‘After the Trilemma’ speech of 15 November 2018, it is important that we develop an energy system that discourages free riding and ensures a fair distribution of such costs.
Network charging is a matter for Ofgem as the independent regulator, and decisions on its Targeted Charging Review (TCR) are for it to make. However, Government is working to understand the policy implications of Ofgem’s review proposals across a broad range of interests. The analysis published by Ofgem as part of a consultation which closed on 4 February 2019 shows that its proposals could affect the deployment of a number of technologies, but with a low likelihood of affecting measures already taken. It is important to understand that no final decisions have been taken on timing or other aspects of the TCR, and Ofgem is currently considering the views and evidence provided in response to its consultation.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - 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 effect of Ofgem's Targeted Charging Review on (1) the deployment of energy storage, (2) the deployment of electric vehicles, and (3) the UK meeting the targets of the fourth and fifth carbon budgets.
Answered by Lord Henley
Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review is seeking to ensure all parties connected to the electricity network make a fair contribution to its fixed costs. As was outlined in the ‘After the Trilemma’ speech of 15 November 2018, it is important that we develop an energy system that discourages free riding and ensures a fair distribution of such costs.
Network charging is a matter for Ofgem as the independent regulator, and decisions on its Targeted Charging Review (TCR) are for it to make. However, Government is working to understand the policy implications of Ofgem’s review proposals across a broad range of interests. The analysis published by Ofgem as part of a consultation which closed on 4 February 2019 shows that its proposals could affect the deployment of a number of technologies, but with a low likelihood of affecting measures already taken. It is important to understand that no final decisions have been taken on timing or other aspects of the TCR, and Ofgem is currently considering the views and evidence provided in response to its consultation.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - 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 amount of income that has been raised by HM Treasury from the EU Emissions Trading Scheme in each year since it was introduced in 1 January 2005 to the present.
Answered by Lord Henley
This information will be published shortly.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of which (1) energy and (2) climate related areas the revenue from the carbon tax is currently spent on; and what assessment has been made of using those revenues for increased investment in energy efficiency improvements in the housing stock to ensure statutory fuel poverty requirements are met.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Carbon Emissions Tax has not been introduced in the UK and would only be introduced in the event the UK leaves the EU without a deal. Therefore, there is no current revenue from this tax.
Revenue from the Carbon Price Support rate and from EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) auctions are not directly hypothecated with revenue going into the Consolidated Fund. The UK spends far in excess of the 50% of revenues from the EU ETS auctions required by the EU on climate and energy areas, for example, the UK will spend at least £5.8bn on international climate finance, helping developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change through coalitions and partnerships, between 2016 and 2020. The UK has committed to spending over £2.5bn on research into low carbon innovation, including clean energy, between 2015 and 2021.
Government has committed to a £6bn programme of spend on home energy efficiency and also to tackling fuel poverty, with all of the current Energy Company Obligation focused on low income and vulnerable households.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - 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 total amount of revenue that has been raised from (1) the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, and (2) the Carbon Price Floor, since May 2017.
Answered by Lord Henley
The total estimated receipts from the Carbon Price Support rate of the Climate Change Levy are £1.5bn from May 2017 until November 2018. Total revenue from EU Emissions Trading System auctions in the UK held between 3 May 2017 and 12 December 2018 was £1.8bn.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will ensure that all newly built houses are fitted with smart energy meters during their construction.
Answered by Lord Henley
A number of energy suppliers are already installing smart energy meters in new build properties, and more than a million smart meters were installed overall in every quarter in 2018.
Energy supply licence conditions enable the Government to set a date from which suppliers must take all reasonable steps to install a compliant smart meter, where a meter is installed for the first time (for example in new build properties) or where a meter is replaced – this is referred to as the New and Replacement Obligation (NRO).
We expect to make a decision to activate the NRO in due course.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the (1) longest, and (2) average, length of time outstanding for appeals made to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy following an offer or refusal of compensation from the Green Deal Finance Company.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Department has put in place a robust process for handling complaints relating to one particular Green Deal Provider, HELMS. As part of this process, the Green Deal Finance Company (GDFC) has made offers to many consumers and over 100 customers have had their complaints accepted and agreed offers from GDFC.
At the end of November, 61 appeals had been received by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy following an offer or refusal of compensation from the Green Deal Finance Company. Of these, one appeal has been decided. The longest length of time outstanding for these appeals is 13 months and the average time for outstanding appeals is eight months.
The Department is committed to resolving those cases fairly and as quickly as possible. However, the complex and legal nature of the redress process prescribed by the Regulations and volume of information we receive from consumers means complaints take some time to resolve. The Department has obtained additional support to review cases in order to speed up the process and is aiming to address the backlog of appeals within the next few months.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how long they expect the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to take to decide a Green Deal appeal following an offer or refusal from the Green Deal Finance Company; and how often that expectation has been met.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Department has put in place a robust process for handling complaints relating to one particular Green Deal Provider, HELMS. As part of this process, the Green Deal Finance Company (GDFC) has made offers to many consumers and over 100 customers have had their complaints accepted and agreed offers from GDFC.
At the end of November, 61 appeals had been received by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy following an offer or refusal of compensation from the Green Deal Finance Company. Of these, one appeal has been decided. The longest length of time outstanding for these appeals is 13 months and the average time for outstanding appeals is eight months.
The Department is committed to resolving those cases fairly and as quickly as possible. However, the complex and legal nature of the redress process prescribed by the Regulations and volume of information we receive from consumers means complaints take some time to resolve. The Department has obtained additional support to review cases in order to speed up the process and is aiming to address the backlog of appeals within the next few months.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Green Deal appeals have been received by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy following an offer or refusal of compensation from the Green Deal Finance Company; and how many of those appeals have been decided.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Department has put in place a robust process for handling complaints relating to one particular Green Deal Provider, HELMS. As part of this process, the Green Deal Finance Company (GDFC) has made offers to many consumers and over 100 customers have had their complaints accepted and agreed offers from GDFC.
At the end of November, 61 appeals had been received by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy following an offer or refusal of compensation from the Green Deal Finance Company. Of these, one appeal has been decided. The longest length of time outstanding for these appeals is 13 months and the average time for outstanding appeals is eight months.
The Department is committed to resolving those cases fairly and as quickly as possible. However, the complex and legal nature of the redress process prescribed by the Regulations and volume of information we receive from consumers means complaints take some time to resolve. The Department has obtained additional support to review cases in order to speed up the process and is aiming to address the backlog of appeals within the next few months.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce renewable energy costs by permitting the growth on on-shore wind, following the recommendations of the report by the National Infrastructure Commission, National Infrastructure Assessment 2018, published 10 July.
Answered by Lord Henley
Onshore wind has deployed successfully to date with nearly 13GW of installed onshore wind capacity now operational across the UK. The Government does not believe that new large scale onshore wind power is right for England, but it could be right for other areas, where local public support exists.
We welcome the publication of the National Infrastructure Commission’s Assessment and are considering their recommendations. The Government will respond in due course.