Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
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 potential merits of reopening applications to the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding closed to new applications on 31 May, and the department does not plan to re-open the scheme. There was a limited extension until 16 June, allowing corporate appointees with business bank accounts to apply on behalf of the eligible households they represent. The government believes that the 3-month time window provided sufficient time for eligible households to apply for their £400 support.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department made an equality impact assessment before (a) determining the period of time that applications would be open and (b) deciding when to publish the deadline for making applications on the GOV.UK portal for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department conducted a Public Sector Equality Duty assessment before the scheme launched, and this document is regularly updated. Officials also conducted an assessment for the length of the scheme, concluding that 3 months would provide suitable time for eligible households to apply, whilst lowering the risk of overpayments because of individuals moving during the scheme. The 31st May deadline was communicated by the Department in the 27th February press notice and to key stakeholder groups who represented eligible applicants, and was added to the GOV.UK portal in May for further clarity.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many and what proportion of eligible households applied for Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding before 31 May 2023.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The latest application figures for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding were published on 11 May as of 3 May on the GOV.UK website - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-support-scheme-alternative-fund-gb-ni-and-alternative-fuel-payment-alternative-fund-applications-made-by-customers.
The next set of figures will be published in June which will include application figures for the scheme up to 31 May 2023.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to increase awareness of the deadline for the EBSS Alternative Funding.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department has communicated the schemes using a variety of methods, including Press Notices, social media, and digital resources. Government understands many EBSS Alternative Fund applicants are hard-to-reach through mainstream channels and has engaged with key stakeholder organisations who have filtered down scheme information encouraging eligible households to apply. With awareness that park home residents make up a large proportion of applicants, Government has also requested local authorities write to all park home sites in their area, further spreading information on the schemes, especially to residents without online access.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the number of heat network customers who are eligible for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Fund and were incorrectly informed by his Department that they were ineligible because they had received £400 in support through their electricity supplier.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department has estimated that there are approximately 31,000 UK households who are part of a heat network who are eligible for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding. The Government do not have any figures for the number of these households who were incorrectly informed that they were ineligible for the scheme. Application numbers for the scheme were released on 11th May and can be located here:
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of the number and proportion of households that are (a) eligible for and (b) have not submitted an application to the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Fund.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department has estimated there are around 900,000 households who are eligible for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS AF) across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Figures on the number of households who have applied for the EBSS AF were published on 11th May and can be found here:
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
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 17 April to Question 176758 on District Heating, if he will publish the source of the data used to estimate the annualised heating bills of heat networks customers.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The response to Question 176758 made an assessment of estimated heating bills for a comparable heat network customer and domestic gas customer. The estimated annualised heating bills for a heat network customer used the data sources detailed below.
Data source | Comments on publication |
Quarterly Energy Pricesstatistical publication. Average non-domestic gas prices paid (March 2022 to September 2022) | Currently published ( https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/industrial-energy-prices) |
Average non-domestic gas prices paid by Energy Bill Relief Scheme recipients, Winter 2022 | Not published due to commercial sensitivity. |
Impact of Energy Bill Relief Scheme on non-domestic gas contract prices | Currently published ( https://www.gov.uk/guidance/energy-bill-relief-scheme-help-for-businesses-and-other-non-domestic-customers) |
Heat network gas price under Energy Bills Discount Scheme | Currently published ( https://www.gov.uk/guidance/energy-bills-discount-scheme-heat-networks-support) |
Historic Ofgem domestic gas price cap | Currently published. Separate time periods published on separate web pages. ( https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/energy-policy-and-regulation/policy-and-regulatory-programmes/default-tariff-cap) |
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of utilising SMRs and other small and medium-sized nuclear projects for the co-generation of heat and power via district heat networks as part of the Great British Nuclear programme.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Heat Networks and Nuclear teams at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero oversee potential for utilising nuclear power as a source of energy for heat networks, including collaboration on nuclear power station siting work and its effect on future heat network zones. Heat network zone potential would increase significantly if there were a viable nuclear power source nearby due to the abundance of waste/recovered heat. Government remain up-to-date on international research in this area through the IEA and international partners.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the (a) average annual cost between 31 March 2022 and 31 March 2023 and (b) projected annual cost until 31 March 2024 of (i) electricity and (ii) heating bills for households on communal and district heat networks; and if he will make a comparative assessment of the cost of (A) those customer's bills and (B) the bills of other domestic customers.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The table below makes a comparative assessment of heating bills for a heat network customer and a typical domestic gas boiler customer. Bills are given as annualised estimates to account for heat consumption varying throughout the year. Time periods have been separated to reflect the introductions of government support schemes. No estimates have been made beyond June 2023 due to uncertainty in future prices.
An electricity comparison has not been included above as most households with domestic electricity contracts and the same electricity demand will face the same electricity bills, regardless of whether they are connected to a heat network.
Time period | Estimated annualised heat network heat bill (7,000 kWh of heat, fuel cost only) | Estimated annualised domestic gas bill (7,000 kWh of heat, fuel cost only) |
April 2023 - June 2023 Energy Bill Discount Scheme supporting heat networks, Energy Price Guarantee capping domestic gas prices. | £861 | £861 |
October 2022 – March 2023 Energy Bill Relief Scheme supporting heat networks, Energy Price Guarantee capping domestic gas prices. | £1,037 | £861 |
March 2022 – September 2022 No government support in place for heat networks, Ofgem price cap limiting domestic gas price. | £968 | £585 |
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that energy suppliers for communal and district heat networks pass on the full benefit of the Energy Bills Discount Scheme to their domestic customers from 1 April 2023.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As with the EBRS, the Government will be introducing regulations to ensure that heat networks pass through the discount in a 'just and reasonable' manner and to set up wider enforcement measures. As part of this, the Energy Ombudsman and the Consumer Council will be empowered to hear complaints from consumers and micro-businesses in Great Britain and Northern Ireland respectively.