Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps Ofgem are taking to reduce electricity losses in the transmission and distribution systems; and what assessment he has made of the effect of those losses on Scottish (a) businesses and (b) consumers.
Answered by Claire Perry
Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) and Transmission Owners have an overarching obligation to develop and maintain efficient, co-ordinated and economical systems. Ofgem has also placed specific licence obligations on them to ensure that losses are as low as reasonably practicable. Whilst Government and Ofgem are aware of potential approaches to minimising losses, including through the use of low resistance cables, network companies are not instructed exactly how to go about this. Instead, Ofgem sets incentives for network companies, including broader environmental incentives on losses and business carbon footprint. These incentives have encouraged the network companies to proactively manage losses on their networks to the extent to which this is possible. For example, it is now widespread practice across GB to replace ‘high-loss’ cables with newer ‘low-loss’ substitutes, where this is efficient. The DNOs are also undertaking a programme of replacing pre-1960s transformers with newer more efficient types.
Neither Government nor Ofgem specifically records the effect of losses on Scottish consumers and businesses. However, as part of developing their business plans for future capital expenditure, Ofgem will require network companies (including the Scottish network companies) to take into account the lifetime costs including losses, when deciding between different equipment.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential role of innovative, low resistance cables in helping to (a) reduce electrical losses and (b) deliver more electricity to where it is consumed.
Answered by Claire Perry
Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) and Transmission Owners have an overarching obligation to develop and maintain efficient, co-ordinated and economical systems. Ofgem has also placed specific licence obligations on them to ensure that losses are as low as reasonably practicable. Whilst Government and Ofgem are aware of potential approaches to minimising losses, including through the use of low resistance cables, network companies are not instructed exactly how to go about this. Instead, Ofgem sets incentives for network companies, including broader environmental incentives on losses and business carbon footprint. These incentives have encouraged the network companies to proactively manage losses on their networks to the extent to which this is possible. For example, it is now widespread practice across GB to replace ‘high-loss’ cables with newer ‘low-loss’ substitutes, where this is efficient. The DNOs are also undertaking a programme of replacing pre-1960s transformers with newer more efficient types.
Neither Government nor Ofgem specifically records the effect of losses on Scottish consumers and businesses. However, as part of developing their business plans for future capital expenditure, Ofgem will require network companies (including the Scottish network companies) to take into account the lifetime costs including losses, when deciding between different equipment.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to enable former directors of companies to require the removal of their name by those companies from company materials.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The Government has no such plans. Limited liability is a privileged status through which individuals are able to carry out business while limiting the extent of their personal liabilities to third parties. There is a public interest in third parties being able to establish the trading history of an individual who has been a director of limited liability companies.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the cost of non-domestic renewable heat incentive subsidies was in each of the last three years.
Answered by Claire Perry
The cost of the Non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive scheme was:
Financial year | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 |
Non-domestic payments | £296 | £443m | £612m |
Note that the 2017/18 figure uses the latest available payment information and is correct up to end February 2018.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of the total biomass used to produce energy in the last year came from (a) domestically sourced wood and (b) imported wood.
Answered by Claire Perry
In 2016 (the latest year for which data are available), the UK energy demand for biomass was 8,542 thousand tonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe). Of this,
a) 46 per cent (3,935 ktoe) was domestically sourced wood, and;
b) 36 per cent (3,071 ktoe) was imported wood.
2016 | ktoe | ||
Wood[1] | Other biomass | Total | |
Production | 3,935 | 1,630 | 5,565 |
Imports | 3,071 | 41 | 3,112 |
Exports | -135 | 0 | -135 |
Total supply | 6,871 | 1,670 | 8,542 |
Source: Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) 2017, table 6.1[2] | |||
[1] Wood includes waste wood, wood, and wood pellets
[2] An estimate has been made for the proportion of wood pellets included in the plant biomass category in DUKES