Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he plans to take to help make it easier for (a) tenants and (b) leaseholders to install heat pumps.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Warm Homes Plan will help upgrade homes across the country, including those occupied by tenants and leaseholders, by making them cleaner and cheaper to run, from installing new insulation to rolling out solar and heat pumps.
The Government is helping make heat pumps more efficient and easier to install, through increasing funding for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to £295 million for this financial year, ensuring more families can benefit from £7,500 off the cost of a heat pump. The Government has also allowed heat pumps to be installed within 1m of the property boundary without applying for planning permission.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the levelised cost of energy for communicating the true cost of energy production to consumers.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) provides a simple, high-level metric to compare the cost of building and operating different generation technologies. While valuable for comparing the relative cost of technologies to each other, LCOE does not include wider system impacts such as flexibility, integration, or transmission costs which occur within an operational system. To fully capture these factors and assess the true cost to consumers, the Department and the independent National Energy System Operator (NESO) use detailed power sector modelling.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many successful applicants there will be to the Great British Nuclear small modular reactor selection process.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Nuclear is driving forward its SMR competition for UK deployment and, following conclusion of detailed negotiations, has invited the four shortlisted companies to submit final tenders. GBN will evaluate these, with final decisions on technology selection to be taken in the Spring. Further updates will follow in due course.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to build any more gigawatt nuclear plants after Sizewell C.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This Government is committed to nuclear power, which, as set out in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, will play an important role in delivering clean power by 2030, and crucially in the period beyond that, providing clean, stable and reliable power. No decision has yet been taken on whether to pursue a future large-scale project beyond Sizewell C.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many people secured a grant from the Great British Insulation Scheme since it opened in April 2003.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) is not a government grant, rather it is an obligation on larger energy suppliers to deliver the most cost-effective single insulation measures to eligible households across Great Britain.
Information on the number of measures installed and the number of households that have received measures under GBIS since it launched in 2023 can be found in Tables 1 and 2 of the latest GBIS Statistics Release.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
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 is taking to ensure a just transition when moving from fossil fuels to a hydrogen-based economy.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
As well as supporting UK energy independence, low carbon hydrogen will be critical to helping British industries transition from oil and gas, provide greener energy for power, transport and potentially home heating. Government’s working closely with the oil and gas industry to achieve a managed transition, including through the North Sea Transition Deal. Deal recognises the world-leading skills of the sector and supply chain and key role it could have in helping deliver net zero and Hydrogen production ambition. The Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill sends a strong signal to support the continued investment necessary to our energy security and transition to cleaner technologies.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
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 it her policy to cap energy prices based on the time of day that households use their appliances.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The price cap on default tariffs remains in place. Ofgem are seeking views on how price protections could apply in future, in light of innovations such as time of use tariffs www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/ofgem-launches-discussion-future-price-cap .
Alongside this the Government is seeking views on how default tariffs should support households in the future https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/default-energy-tariffs-for-households-call-for-evidence.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
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 implications for her policies of trends in the level of profits made by oil and gas companies in the last 12 months.
Answered by Graham Stuart
No such assessment has been made.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
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 potential implications of the provisions of the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill for membership of the Energy Charter Treaty.
Answered by Graham Stuart
On 1 September 2023, the UK announced it would be reviewing its membership of the ECT if the modernised Treaty was not adopted by November 2023. The Government is considering the views of stakeholders in business, civil society, and Parliament as part of this process.
Investments in the UK energy sector are potentially in scope of the investment protection provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty. This protection is dependent on the details of the investment and the relationship between the investor and a Contracting Party to the Energy Charter Treaty.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to her Department’s review of the UK’s membership of the Energy Charter Treaty, what discussions her Department has had with other signatories and contracting parties to that Treaty who are seeking to withdraw from it.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The UK holds regular meetings with Contracting Parties to the Energy Charter Treaty, including the EU and EU Member States.