Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has made an estimate of the number of people living in fuel poverty in Stockport constituency.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The latest statistics for the number of households in fuel poverty in parliamentary constituencies in England, can be found in the published sub-regional fuel poverty Official Statistics, in Table 4: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of National Grid capacity issues on Stockport constituency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Upgrading electricity network capacity is a matter for the private network companies which build, own, and operate the network. The regulator, Ofgem, uses a price control framework to set the level of infrastructure investment for each network company to ensure sufficient capacity is available. Government is accelerating the delivery of higher voltage electricity infrastructure and improving the connections process so that projects can access the network more quickly through the Transmission Acceleration Action Plan and Connections Action Plan respectively, published in November 2023.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 December 2023 to Question 6350 on Energy: Payment Methods, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of applying the Energy Price Guarantee to small businesses.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) provides all eligible businesses and other non-domestic energy users with a baseline discount on high energy bills for 12 months from April 2023 until 31 March 2024. The EBDS is helping businesses locked into contracts signed before substantial falls in wholesale prices manage their costs and provide others with reassurance against the risk of prices rising again.
A higher level of support is provided to some Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETIIs) that are particularly exposed to energy cost increases due to their energy and trade intensity.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 implications for her policies of energy companies applying higher tariffs for customers who do not pay through direct debit.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Since July 2023, the Government has used the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) to provide a discount, so as to levelise prepayment charges with those for direct debit customers. The EPG discount applies until the end of March 2024 and Ofgem is, at the request of Government, currently consulting on proposals to levelise charges from April on an ongoing basis.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to help large food manufacturing companies reduce high energy consumption.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is reviewing what levers can be introduced to help organisations to be more energy efficient. The Energy Efficiency Taskforce was launched to help achieve our target of reducing UK energy demand by 15% from 2021 levels by 2030.
The IETF, which supports industries including the food and drinks sector to cut energy consumption by investing in more efficient technologies, has been extended. Pending business case approval, Phase 3 will launch in early 2023.
Some food manufacturing companies are supported in reducing energy costs through the Climate Change Agreements Scheme and the Combined Heat and Power Quality Assurance Programme.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if his Department will make an estimate of the number of families in fuel poverty in Stockport constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The latest statistics for the number of households in fuel poverty in parliamentary constituencies in England can be found in the published sub-regional fuel poverty Official Statistics.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to take steps to sanction energy companies found to have force-fitted energy meters in residential properties.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Regulation of the energy supply sector is for independent regulator Ofgem.
Ofgem has called for all suppliers to proactively check if any prepayment meters have been installed incorrectly and, where rules have been broken, to act now to offer customers a reversal of installations and compensation payments where appropriate. Ofgem also has powers to fine suppliers, if appropriate, to tackle non-compliance.
The Government will continue to engage with Ofgem and energy suppliers to ensure sufficient action is taken to offer to redress to consumers who have been wrongly forced onto a prepayment meter.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential benefits of targeted energy support for families that (a) run lifesaving medical equipment and (b) have other extra energy costs due to disability and care needs.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Autumn Statement set out a commitment to work with consumer groups and industry to consider the best approach to consumer protection from April 2024, including options such as social tariffs, as part of wider retail market reforms.
The Government is assessing evidence and options and discussing this with stakeholders. As part of this work, the Government is working with disability organisations, considering the costs for disabled people including those with medical equipment and assessing the need for support for disabled people including those using medical equipment in the home.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has taken recent steps to (a) increase the capacity of the electricity network and (b) speed up the connection of renewable energy projects to the national grid.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is committed to accelerating the delivery of electricity network infrastructure to accommodate new sources of clean electricity generation and demand, as set out, jointly with Ofgem, in the Electricity Networks Strategic Framework. The British Energy Security Strategy also sets out the Government's ambition to accelerate transmission network infrastructure, including speeding up the planning consents process.
The Government is working with Ofgem and network companies to release network capacity and improve the connection process to accelerate connection timescales. Actions include better connection queue management, revised modelling of the network impacts of new connections, and considering longer-term connections reform.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of increased cost of energy bills on the flour milling industry.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government recognises how rising energy prices are impacting businesses, including the flour milling industry. The Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) provides a discount on the wholesale element of gas and electricity bills to ensure that all eligible businesses, who receive their energy from licensed suppliers, are protected from high energy costs over the winter period.
The HMT-led review into EBRS considered a range of qualitative and quantitative evidence, including input from businesses and stakeholders. The new Energy Bill Discount Scheme, will run from April until March 2024, and continue to provide a discount to eligible non domestic customers.