Annual Energy Statement
Debate between Ed Davey and Glyn Davies(10 years, 5 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Mr Davey
My hon. Friend should look at the Ofgem proposals, which have backing in the Energy Bill. They will make a big difference to those markets. I am keen to ensure that forward markets—not just the day-ahead market, but the six-month, 12-month and the two-year market—are far more liquid. We have an illiquid market and that is where the big six can exercise market power. The Government and Ofgem are tackling that. The Opposition are not.
Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire) (Con)
Will the Secretary of State explain how it can be fair that the most vulnerable people in my constituency in mid-Wales have to pay through their noses for their energy to provide massive subsidies to giant wealthy wind farm developers who, alongside National Grid, are intent on destroying the environment and landscape of mid-Wales where we live?
Mr Davey
My hon. Friend knows that I cannot comment on the planning application that relates to a lot of what he has just said. If he has constituents who have problems with fuel poverty, we have introduced the warm home discount, which takes £135 off their bills, and there are other measures. He should look at the guide that we are publishing today.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Ed Davey and Glyn Davies
Mr Davey
Since this Government came to power, there has been a very big increase in investment in renewables. It is true that in the past few months the investment has not continued at the rate that we have seen. Why is that? Because people are waiting for the draft strike prices for contracts for difference for renewables, which we will publish next month. We are making real progress on our electricity market reform, and I am delighted to remind the House that on Tuesday this House voted for the Energy Bill on Third Reading by 396 votes to 8. That shows that we have cross-party support for our reforms and we are taking them forward.
Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire) (Con)
5. What assessment he has made of the level of support for onshore wind in those areas affected by the mid-Wales connection project.
Mr Davey
In 2016, we will be the first country to set a decarbonisation target, so the idea that we are being slow on that is preposterous. On shale gas, we are behind other countries—she may have noticed that the US has already gone into it. We are determined to see whether this country can benefit from shale gas, but we will ensure that we protect the environment and take the public with us. That is the right way to get the benefits for the country that shale gas might well offer.
Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire) (Con)
T6. I congratulate my right hon. Friend on today’s announcement that local opinion will no longer be trumped at the planning stage by national policy. However, everyone in my constituency wants to know whether that applies to the six large wind farm applications, over which planning power is not devolved, and which are currently being heard at the UK’s largest ever public inquiry, which started yesterday. Everybody in my constituency is desperate to know whether those applications are subject to the new policy.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Ed Davey and Glyn Davies
Mr Davey
I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s question. I have seen that letter. He will know that there is a case, which I have supported, for bringing this forward and setting a target in 2014, but we have reached an agreement across the coalition. I think it is a very sensible agreement, because we are the first Government ever to propose setting a decarbonisation target. I think we should be proud of that. Rather than talking it down, the Opposition should realise that we have moved further and faster than they did.
Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire) (Con)
T6. I want to thank the Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr Hayes) for hosting a constructive meeting with the Welsh Assembly Member Russell George and myself earlier this week about planning permission for onshore wind farms and associated infrastructure in mid-Wales. Will the Minister tell us how he intends to ensure that more weight be given to the view of planning authorities and local communities when they fiercely oppose wind farms in their areas?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Ed Davey and Glyn Davies(11 years, 2 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire) (Con)
9. What steps he is taking to enable local communities to express opposition to onshore wind farms in their area.
The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Mr Edward Davey)
It is important that communities have a real opportunity to have a say over development in their area, which is why this Government’s planning reforms put local communities in the driving seat. Our recent call for evidence looked at how communities can be better engaged with, and receive greater benefit from, hosting onshore wind in their area, and there will be a report in the summer.
Glyn Davies
Powys council is a small, rural, hard-pressed local planning authority that is currently having to divert £2.8 million from public services to defend refusals of wind farms at public inquiry, and the local community is also raising £150,000 for the same purpose, while developers have access to unlimited funds demanded from consumers. Will my right hon. Friend tell us how this can possibly be fair?
Mr Davey
I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s question. He will understand that planning issues and support for local communities and local authorities are matters for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, and in my hon. Friend’s constituency for people in the Welsh Assembly Government, no doubt, but he makes a fair point. One reason why we have made the call for evidence on how local communities can benefit is to ensure that developers come forward and engage with local communities far better and in a less adversarial way than we have seen in some cases.
Gas Market Fraud
Debate between Ed Davey and Glyn Davies(11 years, 5 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Mr Davey
I agree with the hon. Gentleman that, if it turns out that abuses have been committed that have affected prices for his and my constituents’ energy bills, that is an extremely serious matter, and we want the full weight of the law and investigatory bodies to chase down those people responsible. I have to say, however, that I do not think that makes the case for a new regulatory body. We need to make sure that the existing regulatory bodies, which have very strong and wide-ranging powers which this Government have increased, can take the necessary measures and penalise people if they are proven to have committed an offence.
Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire) (Con)
The biggest challenge facing many of our households today is the cost of energy, including, of course, gas prices. Tolerance of these costs depends absolutely on trust that the market is not rigged. Because manipulative behaviour in the market is so difficult to detect, punishment for illegal activity must be sufficiently severe to create real fear in the minds of potential law-breakers or criminals. Will my right hon. Friend assure us that anyone found guilty of manipulating the market will face the severest penalties—including, possibly, long jail sentences?
Mr Davey
I share my hon. Friend’s concerns that our constituents deserve markets that are fair, deliver competitive outcomes and keep prices as low as possible. He is absolutely right on that. Again, I am being asked to prejudge the outcome of the investigations, but I can say to him that if certain offences are proved to have been committed, very serious penalties are attached to them. If a cartel offence, for example, has been committed, it is a very serious one and it has a criminal sentence attached to it.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Ed Davey and Glyn Davies
Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire) (Con)
1. How many households he estimates will be taking part in the feed-in tariff scheme by 2015 following implementation of his reforms.
The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Mr Edward Davey)
We now estimate that, thanks to our reforms, there will be nearly 1 million installations under the FITs scheme by 2014-15, compared with only 350,000 under the old scheme. Final numbers will of course depend on future technology costs and market growth. As for household share, 97% of current installations are classified as domestic, and it is likely that the majority will continue to fall into that category.
Glyn Davies
The feed-in tariff regime, as recently reformed by the Secretary of State, strikes a fair balance between those who install solar PV and the consumer who meets the cost. It will result in far more installations and it will be more popular. Does my right hon. Friend agree that, in a democracy, striking that balance in achieving his renewal energy targets and the consequent support of the people should always be his objective?