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 had discussions with relevant stakeholders on the potential merits of removing the renewables tariff from gas prices in response to rising energy costs.

The Government has been monitoring the situation and engaging closely with industry and consumer groups since the start of the crisis, to understand the impacts and assess options to help households through this challenging period.

Despite the biggest ever renewable auction in November, support via the Contracts for Difference scheme is now expected to only add 22p per annum on the average bill, showing the increasing competitiveness of UK offshore wind. Since the Government has invested in renewables and energy efficiency, UK demand for natural gas has fallen by 26% since 2010. This has helped reduce the country’s exposure to global price volatility.