Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when her Department last made an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of imported electricity through interconnectors on energy security.

Government consider that interconnectors will play a key role in enabling greater security of supply by providing access to a more diverse electricity generation mix, responding to shocks in the GB system by importing electricity.

The Capacity Market (CM) is our main tool for ensuring security of electricity supply. CM auction targets are set based on advice from the Electricity System Operator’s Electricity Capacity Report which considers the contribution interconnectors make to security of supply.

With the exception of 2022, GB has historically been a net importer of electricity, though ESO forecasts suggest that GB will likely become a net exporter in future.