Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the difference between upfront grid connection costs in the UK and equivalent sites in other European countries on industrial investment decisions.

This government is committed to supporting industrial investment in Great Britain, although responsibility for the connection charging regulatory framework falls to Ofgem. To reduce barriers to investment, Ofgem recently consulted on proposals to move away from the current securities regime for demand users, which requires all transmission costs to be securitised up front, to a milestones-based regime. Ofgem will publish its decision on this in due course.