Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
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 trends in the levels of standing charges for electric vehicle chargers.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The setting of standing charges is a commercial matter for suppliers, and suppliers have the flexibility in how they structure their tariffs. Ofgem regulates standing charges, as they do with other elements of billing.
The Government is pleased that Ofgem is considering the issue of standing charges through their recent Call for Input and looks forward to hearing its findings and future proposals. The Government expects bills to be fair and affordable for all consumers (including for electric vehicle charging), that standing charges are kept as low as possible, and that the right costs are recovered.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he has taken with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to ensure that the Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 6 delivers more offshore wind capacity than Allocation Round 5.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
On 6 March 2024, the Government confirmed over £1 billion of budget will be available in the Contracts for Difference Allocation Round 6 auction, including £800 million allocated to offshore wind. This followed the announcement in November that the administrative strike
prices for fixed and floating offshore wind had been increased by 66% and over 50% respectively, since the previous allocation round. This budget announcement makes this the largest round yet, with four times more budget available to offshore wind than in the previous round.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
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 25 March 2024 to Question 19394 on Fuel Poverty, if she will take steps to extend the list of energy efficiency measures to include new technologies; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of extending that list on energy bills for low-income households.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
Government energy efficiency schemes prioritise measures that have beneficial long-term effects on lowering bills and making homes more comfortable and affordable to live in, within the scope of the Standard Assessment Procedure model. The Government is currently developing the Home Energy Model which will replace the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP).
The current Energy Company Obligation schemes require eligible measures to result in a reduction in the cost of heating a consumer’s home. There are mechanisms for new measures to be eligible where they meet this and other scheme requirements. The potential impact of new measures on energy bill savings for low-income households would have to be assessed in relation to the specific new measures selected.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending until 2027 periods for finalising reconciliation for energy supplier subsidies following the closure of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The Department has been working with energy suppliers and industry stakeholders to determine the best course of action on this matter, which includes ensuring that we retain the necessary protections to protect public funds.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many additional skilled workers will be needed to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government’s policy and spending ambitions will support up to 480,000 jobs in 2030, with over 80,000 green jobs currently being supported or in the pipeline across the UK as a result of new government policies and spending.
We have not made an assessment of the number of additional skilled workers needed to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate her Department has made of how many heat pumps will be installed by 2028 at the current rate of deployment.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The Government remains fully committed to supporting heat pumps and aims to grow the market to 600,000 installations per year by 2028. The Micro Generation Certification Scheme (MCS) estimate that around 40,400 heat pumps were installed in 2023, however new build and installations not using Government funding are not generally recorded by MCS.
Deployment will accelerate with Government support through measures including the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the Heat Training Grant to support installers, and the Clean Heat Market Mechanism, which the Government plans to bring in in 2025. The Future Homes Standard will drive installations for new build homes.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
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 plans to roll out a national energy efficiency advice service.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The Government has launched several digital services aimed at improving people's access to energy efficiency information and advice. The ‘Find Ways to Save Energy in Your Home’ service provides tailored and independent recommendations for home improvement and retrofit. This can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency
Additionally, consumers can check their eligibility for either the Great British Insulation Scheme or the Home Upgrade Grant scheme. These services are supported by a phoneline, to help those needing more bespoke support or those digitally excluded. The Government will continue to improve and expand these services based on user insight and feedback.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
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 merits of including (a) LED lighting, (b) water efficiency devices and (c) other bill-saving technologies in the scope of (i) the Energy Company Obligation and (ii) other fuel poverty schemes.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
Under current assessments, Government energy efficiency schemes prioritise measures that have beneficial long-term effects on lowering bills and making homes more comfortable and affordable to live in.
Current schemes allow the installation of measures which improve the energy performance of a dwelling within the scope of the “Standard Assessment Procedure” (SAP) – which assesses the energy performance of dwellings.
This can include measures such as solid wall insulation, cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, underfloor insulation, draught-proofing, air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, high heat retention storage heating, low energy lighting, solar PV, solar thermal and heating controls.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
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 19 March 2024 to Question 18508 on Oldbury Power Station and Wylfa Power Station: Land, who undertook the independent valuation; and whether the commercial value of land adjacent to decommissioned reactors was taken into account as part of that valuation.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
Independent valuations of the land were conducted by Knight Frank. The inherent characteristics of the land as well as the previous development work which make the land suitable for consideration for nuclear development informed the valuation of the sites.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to paragraph 4.53 of the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, how much land the Government is acquiring in its purchase of the (a) Wylfa and (b) Oldbury-on-Severn sites; what method the Government used to estimate the value of each of those sites; and what criteria the Government used to determine the sites to be purchased.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Wylfa and Oldbury sites have inherent characteristics that make them suitable for consideration for nuclear development. Those characteristics, the previous development work and the terms of agreement were all factors in progressing with the purchase. Independent valuations were obtained for both sites and the purchase secures access to approximately 600 acres at Wylfa and approximately 400 acres at Oldbury.