Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department will name the power generation facility reportedly shut down for four days in July 2026 as a result of a cyber attack, and whether her Department's assessment attributes that attack to a state or state-linked actor.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I cannot comment on specific incidents whilst investigations are ongoing for reasons of national security.
I can, however, confirm that the security and resilience of our energy system is the Department’s top priority.
Alongside the National Cyber Security Centre, we work closely with the energy sector to ensure threats to infrastructure are understood and that appropriate mitigations are implemented.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
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 14 July 2026 to question 16797, what criteria must be satisfied for a business to be required to hold emergency stocks, and a) how many businesses hold emergency stocks, b) what is the volume of emergency stocks they are required to hold, and c) what monitoring is in place to assure the emergency stocks are being held.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
To meet the UK’s oil-stocking obligation as a member of the International Energy Agency, the Secretary of State requires companies that supply more than 50,000 tonnes of key petroleum products to the UK inland market over a 12-month period to hold emergency stocks. This currently applies to 16 refiners and importers. Obligations are allocated among these companies so that the UK holds stocks equivalent to 90 days of net oil imports. Companies report stock levels to the Department monthly, and more frequently during an International Energy Agency stock release. The Department also carries out on-site audits.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
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 14 July 2026 to question 16797, how many times since 1 January 2025 have the industry emergency stocks been used.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There has been one International Energy Agency coordinated emergency stock release since January 2025 – the action announced on 11 March 2026 in response to the Middle East conflict and Strait of Hormuz disruption. The UK's contribution was ~14 million barrels which DESNZ moved quickly to make available by lowering the obligation on companies to hold stocks. Further information on industry stock levels can be found at: ET_3.11_AUG_26.xlsx
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
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 14 July 2026 to question 16796, what are the mandatory reporting thresholds.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Under Regulation 11 of the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018, an Operator of Essential Services (OES) must notify the competent authority for their subsector about any incident which has a significant impact on the continuity of the essential service it provides. To determine the significance of an incident’s impact, an OES must take account of the number of users affected by the disruption; the duration; and the geographical area affected. The Regulations do not prescribe numerical reporting thresholds; instead competent authorities may publish sector-specific guidance to assist OES in determining whether an incident is reportable.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what support (a) her Department, (b) the National Cyber Security Centre and (c) other government bodies provided to the operator of the power generation facility reportedly shut down for four days in July 2026 as a result of a cyber attack.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I cannot comment on specific incidents whilst investigations are ongoing for reasons of national security.
I can, however, confirm that the incident referred to impacted micro-scale generation, and at no point was there a risk to the wider energy system.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many households' energy needs are met, on average, by the power generation facility reportedly shut down for four days in July 2026 as a result of a cyber attack.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I cannot comment on specific incidents whilst investigations are ongoing for reasons of national security.
I can, however, confirm that the incident referred to impacted micro-scale generation, and at no point was there a risk to the wider energy system.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
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 14 July 2026 to question 16796, how many reports were received in the last 12 months that did not meet the mandatory thresholds.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DESNZ does not routinely publish or disclose information relating to voluntary cyber incident reporting, as doing so could prejudice the security and resilience of operators and the wider energy sector. As a result, we do not provide figures on the number of voluntary reports received that fall below the NIS mandatory reporting thresholds.
Operators are encouraged to report cyber incidents and emerging threats to DESNZ, including those that do not meet the mandatory reporting thresholds, where there may be potential implications for energy sector resilience. Such reporting helps to improve situational awareness and supports cross-sector resilience activity.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department holds any government-owned strategic reserve of (a) petrol and (b) diesel for emergency use, separate from industry stockholding obligations.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
HMG does not hold a separate Government-owned strategic reserve of petrol or diesel. The UK meets its International Energy Agency obligations by requiring industry to hold emergency stocks, which can be made available in the event of a supply disruption.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many cyber security incident reports relating to energy infrastructure his Department received in the last 12 months.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Under the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations, operators of essential services are required to report incidents that have an impact on the continuity of the essential services they provide. DESNZ has not received any reports of cyber incidents affecting the energy sector that met these mandatory reporting thresholds in the last 12 months.
The absence of reportable incidents should not be interpreted as an absence of cyber threats or risks. DESNZ continues to work closely with industry, regulators, and wider government to strengthen cyber resilience across the energy sector and encourage the timely reporting of cyber incidents and emerging threats.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, a) what the UK's current gas storage capacity is as a proportion of average winter demand and b) how that compares with the capacity of other G7 countries.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK benefits from a secure, diverse energy system, drawing on a range of gas supplies. Gas storage provides additional flexibility at times of peak demand.
National Gas data indicates the UK has 1.7bcm of gas storage capacity, which is equivalent to around seven days of average winter demand.
The Department does not collect comparative G7 data.