Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 Answer of 5 June 2023 to Question 186433 on Energy Bills Rebate, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of Energy Bill Support Scheme Alternative Funding for supporting applicants who are hard-to-reach through mainstream channels.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) Alternative Funding provided over £61 million support to households who did not have a contract with a domestic electricity supplier and could not be reached by the main EBSS scheme. The final application figures for the schemes were published on GOV.UK on 19 October.
The EBSS Alternative Funding Continuous Cruisers scheme has extended energy bills support further, to itinerant boat dwellers registered with the Canal and River Trust as continuous cruisers during the period from 27 February to 31 May when the EBSS Alternative Funding schemes (Great Britain and Northern Ireland) were open.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 adequacy of Northern Ireland's electricity supply capacity to help meet an increased demand for electric vehicles.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
The matter is devolved to the administration in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate she has made of the number of telephone calls to the contact centre for help with the Energy Bill Support Alternative Funding Scheme in the six months to March 2023.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding launched on 27 February 2023 and closed to new applications on 31 May 2023. The contact centre helpline launched on 1 February 2023, when the pilot phase began, and closed on 31 August 2023. The contact centre helpline received a total of 127,175 calls between 1 February and 31 August.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many homes received energy efficiency measures through the Energy Company Obligation in the last 12 months.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Information on the number of homes that have received measures through the Energy Company Obligation in the last 12 months can be found in Table 1.2 of the latest Household Energy Efficiency Statistics release.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what her Department's planned timescale is for making a decision on whether to blend up to 20% hydrogen by volume into gas distribution networks.
Answered by Graham Stuart
In September, the Government published a consultation to help to build the necessary evidence base to determine whether hydrogen blending offers strategic and economic value and meets the required safety standards. The Government is aiming to reach a strategic policy decision in 2023 on whether to support blending of up to 20% hydrogen by volume into the Great Britain gas distribution networks.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 19 September 2023 to Question 199543 on Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, what (a) types of companies and (b) sectors are eligible for the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund.
Answered by Graham Stuart
To receive support from the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF), companies will need to evidence that they are carrying out an eligible industrial process at a site. Companies of any type or size may apply as long as they meet the Government's sector eligibility criteria. Eligible sectors for the IETF are as follows:
More information on IETF eligibility can be found here. The Government is currently reviewing sector eligibility rules for Phase 3 of the IETF, which will launch in early 2024.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what regions she plans to assess for suitability as locations for future large-scale nuclear reactor projects.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is developing a new nuclear National Policy Statement, which will cover the policy framework for deploying new nuclear power stations beyond 2025. As an initial step, the Government plans to consult on its proposed approach for determining how new nuclear developments could be sited in future in England and Wales. The intention is to publish this consultation before the end of 2023.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to reopen applications for the Contracts for Difference scheme.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Contracts for Difference scheme now runs on an annual basis. The Government has confirmed that the sixth allocation round will open, as scheduled, in March 2024.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the differences are between the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund rules for (a) Northern Ireland and (b) England and Wales.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) runs in accordance with the relevant subsidy control scheme for each country. The same IETF rules apply to companies in all countries, with the exception of the aid thresholds for decarbonisation deployment projects. For companies in England and Wales, the maximum aid intensity that a company can claim is 50%, 60% and 70% for small, medium and large companies respectively. To comply with the General Block Exemption Regulations (GBER), applicable under the Northern Ireland Protocol, the maximum aid intensity that companies in Northern Ireland can claim is 40%, 50% and 60%, dependent on their size, plus a further 5% to reflect the region’s Tier 2 status under the EU subsidy control regime.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many eligible households that had applied for an Alternative Fuel Payment had not yet been paid on 13 September 2023.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The most up-to-date figures on households receiving the Alternative Fuel Payment Alternative Fund can be found here: