Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the hierarchy is for loadshedding or supply curtailment in the event of a National Gas Supply Emergency; and what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications of that hierarchy for electricity generation and domestic consumption.

Great Britain has a highly resilient energy system and has never seen the declaration of a Network Gas Supply Emergency.

The procedures for Gas and Electricity Emergencies are set out in detail in DESNZ's Downstream Gas and Electricity National Emergency Plan, which is reviewed on a regular basis. National Gas Transmission have a range of tools to balance the system, and 'Load Shedding' of gas connections is a carefully considered process only required when all other commercial and emergency mechanisms have failed. To mitigate impacts as far as possible in the event of loadshedding, the most critical customers have supplies prioritised for as long as practicable and domestic consumers are disconnected only as a last resort.