Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential effect of the Electricity Generator Levy on the international competitiveness of the renewables sector.

Britain is a global leader in renewable energy. Since 2010, our renewable energy production has grown faster than any other large country in Europe. We are committed to ensuring that the UK remains one of the best places in the world to invest in clean energy and have set stretching deployment ambitions, including up to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030. The Government is supporting renewables deployment through a range of policy levers, including the Contracts for Difference scheme, through which generators have received almost £6 billion net in price support to date.

The Electricity Generator Levy is a proportionate approach to recovering a share of the extraordinary profits being realised by certain generators which will help to fund our vital public services and our support for households and businesses facing increased energy bills.

The importance of continued investment in renewables has been reflected in the design of the levy setting the benchmark price at a level approximately 50% more than the average electricity price over the last decade, indexing the benchmark price to inflation and providing a £10 million allowance below which the levy will not be charged.