Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the benefits of providing residents who are local to energy and nuclear plants with discounts to their energy bills.
Answered by Greg Hands
It is important that communities can participate in and benefit from the deployment of new low carbon energy technologies in their local areas. As set out in its recent British Energy Security Strategy, the Government is developing onshore wind partnerships in England that will enable supportive communities to host new onshore wind infrastructure and enjoy the benefits of doing so, through developers supporting for example, local energy discounts and new community infrastructure projects.
Renewable and nuclear projects can also bring wider socio-economic benefits to local people and businesses, including increasing local employment, creating regional supply chains and investing in new training facilities in the community.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of temporarily reducing the green levy on energy bills in order to assist people with energy costs after 1 April 2022.
Answered by Greg Hands
According to Ofgem, environmental and social policy costs totalled 25.48 percent on electricity bills and 2.46 percent on gas bills in 2020. Over the past 10 years their net effect has reduced consumer energy bills.
These levies fund vital support schemes and energy efficiency measures which benefit low income and vulnerable households as well as investing in the UK’s home-grown renewable energy sector, reducing reliance on gas and therefore volatile gas prices.
The Government continues to monitor the efficiency and value of green policies.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support households with the (a) cost of insulation, (b) transition to heat pumps from gas boilers and (b) implementation of other energy efficiency measures.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy included £3.9 billion of new funding for decarbonising heat and buildings. This brings existing Government spending to a total of £6.6 billion across the lifetime of this parliament. This money is supporting energy-efficiency schemes including the Local Authority Delivery Scheme, the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and the new £450 Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which provides discounts on the costs of installing a heat pump. The Government’s Energy Company Obligation Scheme has also been extended from 2022 to 2026 and its value increased from £640 million to £1 billion a year.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the Welsh (a) economy and (b) tourism industry of denoting St. David's Day as a bank holiday.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has no current plans to change the well-established and accepted arrangements for bank holidays in the UK. The Government remains committed to working together with all the Devolved Administrations to ensure that the UK’s institutions are working collectively as one United Kingdom.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
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 publish an update to the National Emergency Plan for downstream gas and electricity.
Answered by Greg Hands
The National Emergency Plan for Downstream Gas and Electricity remains an accurate overview of the plans and processes across the energy sector for emergencies.
The National Emergency Plan for Downstream Gas and Electricity is planned to be updated this year. While the document currently references EU law and regulation, these have been succeeded by UK law and regulation as part of a wider statutory instrument package brought in when the UK left the EU.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made on the proportion of homes rated EPC C+ in (a) 2010 and (b) 2020.
Answered by Greg Hands
The latest English Housing Survey suggests 14% of English homes were rated EPC C+ in 2010 and 46% rated EPC C+ in 2020.
Tab AT2.8, Cells C37:D38
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what comparative assessment he has made of the cost of producing a kilowatt of electricity from a (a) North Sea wind turbine and (b) power station running on gas shipped to the UK from overseas.
Answered by Greg Hands
BEIS publishes the Levelized Costs of Electricity (LCOE) for all generating technologies in the Generation Cost Reports (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/beis-electricity-generation-costs-2020). The LCOE of offshore wind turbines and gas plants (both CCGT and OCGT) are derived from their lifetime electricity generation, capital costs, and operational costs (including fuel).
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to monitor above inflation increases in standing charges by energy companies; and what assessment he has made of (a) the reasons for increasing those charges above the rate of inflation and (b) the impact on (i) consumers and (ii) energy companies.
Answered by Greg Hands
The setting of energy tariffs including the standing charge is a commercial matter for individual suppliers. The standing charge is a daily flat rate passed on to consumers which covers the costs energy suppliers incur to provide a live supply to each household. It includes charges from network companies for using pipes and power lines to carry gas and electricity supplies, the maintenance and installation of meters and billing and accounting. A small proportion of the standing charge also goes towards Government initiatives that help vulnerable households and reduce emissions.
For millions of households the level of the standing charge is protected by the energy price cap rate set by Ofgem. The energy unit rate and the standing charge together for a supplier’s default and standard variable tariffs must not exceed the level of the price cap. For consumers looking for a new fixed deal for the energy, suppliers can offer a range of tariffs including some with a low or even a zero standing charge and a higher energy unit rate to attract low energy users.