Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the amount of electricity generated in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the rest of the UK that could be used to power the Aughinish Alumina plant in Limerick under the Single Electricity Market; and what assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of such a transfer of electricity on the UK's (a) foreign, defence and security policy in relation to Russia and Ukraine and (b) standing in the wider international community.

Energy policy is devolved in Northern Ireland, with the Northern Ireland Executive responsible for its own policy decisions.

We trade electricity between Great Britain and the Single Electricity Market on the Island of Ireland over interconnectors. Interconnector flows are driven by relative market prices, with trades occurring anonymously at the market level, not specific to an energy user such as the Aughinish Alumina plant. The Government has therefore not assessed flows to individual sites.

Interconnectors support our energy security by providing access to a more diverse pool of generation and enhancing our security of supply.