Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has held with the Scottish Government on developing export opportunities from the deployment of carbon capture, utilisation and storage in the UK.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ministers and officials from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy hold regular meetings with counterparts in the devolved administrations to discuss energy and decarbonisation policy, including the significant opportunities presented by the deployment of carbon capture, utilisation and storage across the UK.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what training or other support his Department is making available to workers in the oil and gas sector to assist them to transition to roles in the hydrogen sector.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The North Sea Transition Deal recognises that the upstream oil and gas workforce has the transferrable skills needed to support the energy transition, including the development of a hydrogen economy. The Deal supports the work of the Energy Skills Alliance, which aims to prepare the energy industry to meet the future demand for skills in new technologies. The Deal also contains a commitment for OPITO, the sector skills body, to develop an integrated people and skills plan with measurable objectives, by March 2022, to support the sector’s diversification. The Government Net Zero Strategy, recently published, further commits to reform the skills system, so that training providers, employers and learners are incentivised and equipped to help deliver our net zero aims.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has held with the Scottish Government on the delivery of the target of 50 per cent local UK content in the North Sea Transition Deal published by his Department in March 2021.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Through the landmark North Sea Transition Deal, the sector committed to voluntary, industry-led UK content targets for related new energy projects and decommissioning as well as for locally provided technology. The sector is considering how it will meet these targets and this month has appointed an Industry Supply Chain Champion, Sian Lloyd-Rees, to raise the profile of the UK’s energy supply chain capability. BEIS regularly engages with the Scottish Government alongside industry and regulators through the Deal Delivery Group and North Sea Transition Forum to discuss all aspects of the delivery of the Deal. The Oil and Gas Authority, as the independent regulator, will monitor the voluntary supply chain targets utilising existing tools such as their Supply Chain Action Plans.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
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 make representations to Ofgem on ensuring that its supplier licensing proposals do not cause significant mutualisation costs for consumers.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ofgem has been clear that their supplier licence reforms aim to ensure suppliers have the capacity and capability to effectively serve their customers.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with Ofgem on protecting consumers from higher bills as a direct result of energy supply company failures, where credit balances and unpaid renewables obligations are thereafter mutualised across other suppliers.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government wants a competitive and innovative supply market, and continues to promote competition as the best driver of value and service for customers.
In a competitive market, it is normal for suppliers to exit the market from time to time. Unfortunately, some energy suppliers are facing pressures due to sudden increases in global gas prices. If a supplier fails, Ofgem will ensure customers’ are moved to a new supplier, household credit balances will be protected and gas and electricity supply will continue uninterrupted. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has been clear that protecting consumers shapes the Government’s entire approach on these gas price spikes.
Ofgem has reviewed their approach to supplier licensing with their resultant package of measures aimed at driving up standards across the energy retail sector by promoting more responsible risk management, improving governance, increasing accountability, and enhancing Ofgem’s market oversight. Additionally Ofgem is considering the responses to its March 2021 consultation on further measures that would require suppliers to automatically refund customers’ credit balances every year and protect any amounts they hold above a certain threshold.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
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 make representations to Ofgem on the need for any new rules proposed under the Supplier Licencing Review to ensure that suppliers are not able to use an uninformed line of credit in the form of customer credit balances.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government wants a competitive and innovative supply market, and continues to promote competition as the best driver of value and service for customers.
In a competitive market, it is normal for suppliers to exit the market from time to time. Unfortunately, some energy suppliers are facing pressures due to sudden increases in global gas prices. If a supplier fails, Ofgem will ensure customers’ are moved to a new supplier, household credit balances will be protected and gas and electricity supply will continue uninterrupted. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has been clear that protecting consumers shapes the Government’s entire approach on these gas price spikes.
Ofgem has reviewed their approach to supplier licensing with their resultant package of measures aimed at driving up standards across the energy retail sector by promoting more responsible risk management, improving governance, increasing accountability, and enhancing Ofgem’s market oversight. Additionally Ofgem is considering the responses to its March 2021 consultation on further measures that would require suppliers to automatically refund customers’ credit balances every year and protect any amounts they hold above a certain threshold.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
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 ask Ofgem to make an estimate of the costs of energy supplier failure in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK, including (i) managing the supplier of last resort process, (ii) covering the cost of consumer credit balances and (iii) unpaid renewables obligations, since January 2018.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government wants a competitive and innovative supply market, and continues to promote competition as the best driver of value and service for customers.
In a competitive market, it is normal for suppliers to exit the market from time to time. Unfortunately, some energy suppliers are facing pressures due to sudden increases in global gas prices. If a supplier fails, Ofgem will ensure customers’ are moved to a new supplier, household credit balances will be protected and gas and electricity supply will continue uninterrupted. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has been clear that protecting consumers shapes the Government’s entire approach on these gas price spikes.
Ofgem has reviewed their approach to supplier licensing with their resultant package of measures aimed at driving up standards across the energy retail sector by promoting more responsible risk management, improving governance, increasing accountability, and enhancing Ofgem’s market oversight. Additionally Ofgem is considering the responses to its March 2021 consultation on further measures that would require suppliers to automatically refund customers’ credit balances every year and protect any amounts they hold above a certain threshold.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether (a) his Department and (b) Ofgem have made an assessment of the potential effect of the mutualisation of costs from energy supplier failures on low-income consumers.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government wants a competitive and innovative supply market, and continues to promote competition as the best driver of value and service for customers.
In a competitive market, it is normal for suppliers to exit the market from time to time. Unfortunately, some energy suppliers are facing pressures due to sudden increases in global gas prices. If a supplier fails, Ofgem will ensure customers’ are moved to a new supplier, household credit balances will be protected and gas and electricity supply will continue uninterrupted. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has been clear that protecting consumers shapes the Government’s entire approach on these gas price spikes.
Ofgem has reviewed their approach to supplier licensing with their resultant package of measures aimed at driving up standards across the energy retail sector by promoting more responsible risk management, improving governance, increasing accountability, and enhancing Ofgem’s market oversight. Additionally Ofgem is considering the responses to its March 2021 consultation on further measures that would require suppliers to automatically refund customers’ credit balances every year and protect any amounts they hold above a certain threshold.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what regulatory models he is considering to underpin investment in hydrogen storage.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Hydrogen Strategy, published on 21st August set out that hydrogen storage, for example in salt caverns or depleted gas fields, can support the hydrogen economy in a range of ways that position it as a strategic asset as part of a fully decarbonised, net zero economy.
The Strategy made clear that there is still much work to do to understand, develop and scale up hydrogen storage infrastructure as both supply and demand grow. It committed to a review of systemic hydrogen storage requirements in the 2020s and beyond.
The Government’s review will assess the need for hydrogen storage and what form this might take. It will also consider whether funding or other incentives are needed, and whether further government regulation might be required to ensure that hydrogen storage infrastructure is available when needed.
This work, in addition to other work we are undertaking with technology developers, regulators and other industry stakeholders will help inform future Government policy on hydrogen storage. Government intends to provide an update on its review in early 2022 to facilitate further discussions with stakeholders.
Alongside its Hydrogen Strategy, the Government also published the Hydrogen Business Model consultation. The consultation includes specific questions on the treatment of small-scale storage within the Hydrogen Business Model, as well as on the potential need for a separate Government intervention to facilitate investment in future larger scale storage. Responses to these questions will also help inform our hydrogen storage review.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
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 that the Rough reservoir in the Southern North Sea could play in meeting hydrogen storage demand.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Hydrogen Strategy, published on 21st August set out that hydrogen storage, for example in salt caverns or depleted gas fields, can support the hydrogen economy in a range of ways that position it as a strategic asset as part of a fully decarbonised, net zero economy.
The Strategy made clear that there is still much work to do to understand, develop and scale up hydrogen storage infrastructure as both supply and demand grow. It committed to a review of systemic hydrogen storage requirements in the 2020s and beyond.
The Government’s review will assess the need for hydrogen storage and what form this might take. It will also consider whether funding or other incentives are needed, and whether further government regulation might be required to ensure that hydrogen storage infrastructure is available when needed.
This work, in addition to other work we are undertaking with technology developers, regulators and other industry stakeholders will help inform future Government policy on hydrogen storage. Government intends to provide an update on its review in early 2022 to facilitate further discussions with stakeholders.
Alongside its Hydrogen Strategy, the Government also published the Hydrogen Business Model consultation. The consultation includes specific questions on the treatment of small-scale storage within the Hydrogen Business Model, as well as on the potential need for a separate Government intervention to facilitate investment in future larger scale storage. Responses to these questions will also help inform our hydrogen storage review.