Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 improve the resilience of the electricity grid to extreme weather conditions.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great Britain has a highly resilient energy network. Network operators have completed a significant number of improvements to the resilience of Great Britain’s electricity network which means the electricity system is in a much better place to mitigate power disruption during extreme weather events such as Storm Darragh and Storm Eowyn. The Energy Emergencies Executive Committee (E3C) work to identify lessons after all large energy incidents to ensure continuous improvement to the network. E3C will work with network operators in Northern Ireland as part of this process to ensure, where necessary, improvements are made across the UK.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress her Department has made on the issuing of energy support payments to people in mobile homes.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
Mobile homes on permanent sites were eligible to receive support through the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding which closed to new applications on 31 May 2023. After extensive research and stakeholder engagement, the Government have been unable to establish a robust method for mobile homes not on permanent sites to prove that their caravan is their main or sole residence, whilst protecting public funds against fraud.