Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of Drax bringing two coal-fired units out of retirement this winter on (a) emissions and (b) delivery of the UK’s carbon budgets.

Earlier this year, I asked National Grid: Electricity System Operator to explore the possibility and need of retaining the Drax owned coal-fired electricity generation for winter 2023/24 to bolster security of supply. However, the units will not operate this winter.

Use of the contracts would not have had an impact on the carbon budget as it assumes coal-power generation until 2025. Potential emissions were considered, but the impact was assessed as low as the coal units would only generate in an emergency. Last year, all coal contingency units generated for just 12.6 hours in total.