Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 ensure that households do not face further rises in energy bills if the support announced in the recent Budget is not extended beyond the initial three-year period.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is funding the majority of the legacy Renewables Obligation for 3 full years, covering the period for which the Government set resource budgets at the Spending Review, while it takes steps to address the underlying issues of high bills.
Our clean power mission will get us off the rollercoaster of international gas prices, which remain more than double what they were in 2020. Any future funding will be considered in the next spending review in the usual way.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of whether the energy bill support measures announced in the recent Budget will cease after the stated three-year period.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is funding the majority of the legacy Renewables Obligation for 3 full years, covering the period for which the Government set resource budgets at the Spending Review, while it takes steps to address the underlying issues of high bills.
Our clean power mission will get us off the rollercoaster of international gas prices, which remain more than double what they were in 2020. Any future funding will be considered in the next spending review in the usual way.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of electricity demand from AI-related data centres on electricity prices.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to ensuring electricity networks can meet rising electricity demand, including from data centres, and to protecting consumer bills. Locating data centres where there is excess renewable generation could lower constraint costs, thereby reducing overall system costs and consumer bills. The Government has set up the AI Energy Council jointly chaired by the Secretary of State for DESNZ and Secretary of State for DSIT to look strategically at the energy case for AI and data centres across the UK.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the national security considerations relevant to renewable energy developments in proximity to defence sites.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government takes the security and resilience of UK energy infrastructure very seriously.
The Department collaborates with government departments – including the Ministry of Defence – other agencies and industry partners on a regular and ongoing basis to understand, assess and mitigate threats to both energy infrastructure and sensitive sites.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what guidance his Department provides to developers on national security considerations when selecting suppliers for critical energy infrastructure.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government takes the security and resilience of UK energy infrastructure very seriously.
The department works closely with other government departments, agencies and industry partners to understand, assess and mitigate threats to energy infrastructure.
Where necessary this includes written guidance, for example in relation to the Procurement Act 2023, or clear and robust regulatory standards, for example for cyber resilience through the Network and Information Systems Regulations.
The department is committed to working closely across Government and industry stakeholders to take forward the actions needed to develop supply chains that are resilient, sustainable, innovative and secure.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 assessment of the level of dependence on overseas suppliers for wind turbine components and its potential implications for energy security.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government takes the security and resilience of UK energy infrastructure very seriously.
The department is committed to working closely across Government and industry stakeholders to take forward the actions needed to develop supply chains that are resilient, sustainable, innovative and secure.
The Government is clear that the greatest risk to our energy security is from failing to decarbonise and continuing to be overly dependent on fossil fuels, exposing household bills to the rollercoaster of fossil fuel prices.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 the national security implications of foreign-state-linked companies supplying components for renewable energy infrastructure.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government takes the security and resilience of UK energy infrastructure very seriously.
The department works closely with other government departments, agencies and industry partners to understand, assess and mitigate threats to energy infrastructure.
The department is committed to working closely across Government and industry stakeholders to take forward the actions needed to develop supply chains that are resilient, sustainable, innovative and secure.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of rural depopulation on the energy efficiency and maintenance of housing stock in remote areas.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK has the oldest housing stock in Europe and we are aware of the complexities involved in decarbonising rural and off-gas grid homes.
This government is committed to ensuring that no-one is left behind in the transition to Net Zero, supplying solutions that work for all buildings.
Our Warm Homes Plan will help households, including rural off-gas grid households, take up measures like solar panels, heat pumps, batteries and insulation, helping them save money on their bills and benefit from cleaner, cheaper heating. The Department has partnered with combined authorities and local and devolved governments to roll out this plan. Details of the plan will be published soon.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of lower standing charge tariffs on households in the Scottish Highlands.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government knows that, for many consumers, too much of the burden of the energy bill is placed on standing charges. We are committed to lowering the cost of standing charges and are working constructively with Ofgem on this issue.
Ofgem have been working to ensure that domestic consumers, in the Scottish Highlands and across Great Britain, can choose tariffs with lower standing charges. You can read about this here:
Requirement to offer lower standing charge tariffs | Ofgem
Ofgem have also been reviewing how ‘fixed’ costs, which tend to be funded through standing charges, should be recovered in the future energy system. Through the Cost Allocation and Recovery Review (CARR), Ofgem will consider how options for allocating and recovering costs in a fairer and more efficient way. This includes considering whether ‘fixed’ costs should vary across regions or whether they should be standard across Great Britain.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of improved household insulation on levels of fuel poverty in the Scottish Highlands.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Energy efficiency policy is devolved in Scotland. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has reporting responsibilities for England only.