Asked by: William Cash (Conservative - Stone)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential to increase exports and imports of electricity through new and existing interconnectors; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
As set out in the Clean Growth Strategy, 4.4 gigawatts of new interconnector capacity is currently under construction, and regulatory assessments indicate the potential for at least 9.5 gigawatts more.
Import and export flows on interconnectors are determined by prices in the connected markets. Power should flow from the lower priced market to the higher priced market. This determines the levels of exports and imports on existing interconnectors.
Asked by: William Cash (Conservative - Stone)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with representatives of UK-based electricity generators on the market advantages experienced by (a) interconnectors and (b) companies that propose the construction of interconnectors.
Answered by Claire Perry
We regularly meet with representatives of UK based electricity generators on a range of matters, including on electricity interconnector policy. The department also consults industry on policy relating to interconnectors. For example, over the summer the Department held a Call for Evidence for the Capacity Market Review. One of the priority issues for this Capacity Market Review is the contribution that interconnectors make to security of supply and whether they are compensated appropriately.
Asked by: William Cash (Conservative - Stone)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to establish an independent UK energy policy after the UK leaves the EU on 29 March 2019; and if will he make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
As set out in the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union white paper, published on the 12 July, the UK is seeking broad energy cooperation with the EU including arrangements for trade in electricity and gas, cooperation with EU Agencies and bodies, and data sharing to facilitate market operations.
Whatever our future relationship with the EU we remain committed to delivering affordable, secure and low-carbon energy.
Asked by: William Cash (Conservative - Stone)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the UK is planned to remain bound by the EU Renewable Energy Directive after the UK leaves the EU on 29 March 2019.
Answered by Claire Perry
Leaving the EU will not affect the UK's commitment to domestic and international efforts to tackle climate change. Renewable technologies now form a very significant part of the UK’s energy mix and will continue to do so into the future. Renewable energy will have a key role to play in delivering our ambitious Clean Growth Strategy.
The UK has already transposed elements of the original Renewable Energy Directive, in particular the target of 15% of the UK’s energy coming from renewables by 2020, with the Promotion of the Use of Energy from Renewable Sources Regulations 2011.
The UK will consider the extent of our longer term cooperation with the EU on renewable energy as part of the wider EU Exit negotiations on our future energy partnership.
Asked by: William Cash (Conservative - Stone)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many terrawatt hours of electricity generated from coal fired power plants in the EU the UK has imported in each of the last five years.
Answered by Claire Perry
It is not possible to trace the precise source of the electricity transported through interconnectors. The precise generation mix that provides the imported electricity at any point in time will depend on a complex set of factors and, in particular, will vary depending on the characteristics of the exporting market.
Asked by: William Cash (Conservative - Stone)
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 effect of trends in the level of electricity generating margins in the EU on future Government policy in relation to interconnectors.
Answered by Claire Perry
When modelling interconnection’s contribution to security of supply through the Capacity Market we de-rate them to ensure we have enough reliable capacity to meet peak demand. This process happens on an annual basis. National Grid models a range of different sensitivities to do this, taking into account conditions in those countries that we are interconnected to. This year the de-rating factors of several interconnectors were lower than in previous years, in part reflecting tightening margins in the countries that they connect to.
Asked by: William Cash (Conservative - Stone)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many GWh of electricity consumed in the UK in the last 12 months were supplied by interconnectors.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The Government routinely publishes total import figures from interconnectors in the annual Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES), and the quarterly National Statistics Energy Trends data.
The latest available 12 month period of data spans 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017 and shows a gross import of 17,228 GWh through interconnectors.
Asked by: William Cash (Conservative - Stone)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many TWh of electricity were consumed in the UK in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
In the 12 months ending March 2017, the total UK electricity demand, which includes energy industry use, losses and final consumption by end users, was 354.5 TWh. This is down 0.7 per cent on the same period a year earlier.
Source: Energy Trends table 5.2 - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electricity-section-5-energy-trends
Asked by: William Cash (Conservative - Stone)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what operational interconnectors there are in the UK; and what the MW capacity is of each of those interconnectors.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The UK currently has 4GW (4000MW) of operational interconnection capacity:
Asked by: William Cash (Conservative - Stone)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many GWh of electricity were exported from the UK through interconnectors in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The Government routinely publishes total export figures in the annual Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES), and the quarterly National Statistics Energy Trends data.
The latest available 12 month period of data spans March 2016 to March 2017 and shows a total export of 2,782 GWh through interconnectors.