Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of (a) the comparative efficiency and (b) cost-effectiveness of (i) improving the thermal efficiency of existing Combined Cycle Gas Turbine power stations and (ii) investing in small modular nuclear reactors.

No direct assessment has been made of the impact of more efficient CCGTs on wholesale electricity prices, nor of the efficiency of CCGTs versus small modular reactors.

An efficient electricity system needs a range of technologies to ensure that we reach our carbon goals while ensuring cost-effective energy security. Increasing participation of renewables in the wholesale market means that, over time, those technologies will determine the price more often and gas will play a much more limited role in setting the market price.

Improving efficiency of CCGTs is a commercial decision for plant operators.

Great British Nuclear (GBN) is driving forward its small modular reactor (SMR) competition for UK deployment. As with any technology, the economic case for SMRs would be factored into any investment decision.