Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she made of the potential implications for the proposals in her Department's consultation entitled Transitional support mechanism for large-scale biomass electricity generators, published on 18 January 2024, of the recommendation on page 142 of the report by the Climate Change Committee entitled Biomass in a low-carbon economy, published on 15 November 2018.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is consulting on a possible transitional support mechanism to support the transition of large-scale biomass generators to power BECCS (bioenergy with carbon capture and storage). The Government values Power BECCS as a vehicle for delivering significant volumes of CO2 removals to support our Carbon Budgets and Net Zero targets. We will continue to consider relevant recommendations from the CCC and other parties when determining next steps; no decision has been taken at this stage.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
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 impact of the use of woody biomass as feedstock for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage on (a) global land use and (b) the availability of land for growing crops.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
To ensure that bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) delivers genuine negative emissions, Government will require that only sustainable biomass is used. The 2023 Biomass Strategy included an assessment of sustainable biomass availability to the UK (including woody biomass), to support the UK’s net zero target. The availability of sustainable woody biomass was estimated using updated modelling which included considerations of global land use to exclude unsustainable changes, as well as accounting for wider land use pressures such as food security and biodiversity.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether existing smart meters will need to be replaced when the UK's 2G and 3G networks are phased out in 2033.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is working closely with industry to ensure a smooth transition of services when 2G/3G communication services are switched off by the end of 2033.
In premises where smart meters have reached the end of their expected lifespan, they will be replaced with a new smart meter as part of business-as-usual activity. Where smart meters are within their lifespan we expect suppliers to upgrade communications hubs, without the need to replace the smart meter itself.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when the management of the Data Communications Company's smart meter network will transfer from O2 to Vodafone.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The transfer will occur from 2025 until the end of 2033, when the smart metering communications service in the Central and South regions of Great Britain will have been transitioned to a 4G service using the Vodafone network.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Sixth Report of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee of Session 2019-21 on Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme, HC 1346, published on 29 April 2021, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing the report's recommendations on the terms and conditions of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government responded to the Committee’s report in June 2021 explaining that it was unable to agree to the Committee’s recommendations. That response is available to read here.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many miners were recipients of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme in (a) Ceredigion and (b) Wales in November 2023.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As at June 2023, there were 48 members of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme in Ceredigion and 13,838 in Wales as a whole. These are the most recent available figures.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department has taken to lessen the upfront cost of retrofitting for (a) lower- and (b) middle-income households.
Answered by Graham Stuart
To support households with the upfront costs of retrofitting, the Government is investing £6.6 billion over this Parliament on clean heat and improving energy efficiency in buildings, and a further £6 billion of new Government funding will be made available from 2025 to 2028.
In addition, the Energy Company Obligation and GB Insulation Scheme, worth £5 billion in total, offer free or highly subsidised retrofits to lower and middle-income households living in energy inefficient homes.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department has taken to support people in the private rental sector to access retrofitting schemes.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is spending £6bn this Parliament and a further £6bn to 2028 on making buildings cleaner and warmer. In addition, £5bn will be delivered through the Energy Company Obligation and the Great British Insulation Scheme up to March 2026.
In September, the Government launched a new eligibility tool on its ‘Help for Households’ GOV.UK page to help people find the support available to them via the Home Upgrade Grant and the Great British Insulation Scheme.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing the Warm Home Discount in line with the increases to the Ofgem price cap.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
From winter 2022 the Government extended and expanded the Warm Home Discount to support more households in fuel poverty, by increasing the spending envelope from £350m to £475m (in 2020 prices) and also raising the rebate to £150. This winter, we expect over 3 million households to receive the increased rebate.
As the scheme is funded by participating energy suppliers, we have struck a balance between supporting as many households as possible, providing meaningful support, and limiting the impact on wider consumer bills.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps is her Department is taking to support customers with rising levels of energy consumer debt.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government recognises the challenges posed by the impact of high energy bills and debt and is already providing extensive financial support to households. The Government provided nearly £40 billion to protect households and businesses from spiralling energy bills over last winter.
Ofgem recently announced new customer service standards to help support those who maybe struggling with their bills this winter, including requirements on suppliers to: contact customers if they miss payments, offer support such as affordable payment plans if they are struggling, prioritise vulnerable customers and offer free contact methods for people struggling to pay their bills.