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 impact of proportionately smaller energy charges such as smart meter usage fees on (a) the ability of customers to pay their energy bills and (b) the wider cost of living crisis.

There is no smart meter usage fee for energy consumers. Consumers' bills include the costs of providing and maintaining a live supply for metering points whether they are smart or traditional. These costs represent a small proportion of overall bills.

The Government is committed to protecting consumers from the impact of high energy prices and provided £37 billion in cost of living support last year. This included introducing the Energy Price Guarantee, which protects customers from increases in energy costs by limiting the amount suppliers can charge per unit of energy used and the average standing charges for customers on default tariffs.