Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what volume of gas was imported from Russia in 2023.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In 2023, the UK did not import any gas from Russia. The last import of gas from Russia to the UK was in March 2022 (Energy Trends Table 4.4).
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to page 7 of the document entitled ICF Brazil: Summary, published in March 2024, when the Government plans to disburse its £115 million contribution to the Amazon Fund.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK is the third biggest contributor of climate finance to Brazil, with more than £400 million committed. The UK’s contribution supports initiatives under the Green and Inclusive Growth partnership to help Brazil’s economic transition to net zero, reduce deforestation rates and support Brazil’s ambition to develop a bioeconomy which values standing forest and supports local communities’ livelihoods. At COP 28 the UK signed a legal agreement with the Amazon Fund and an initial disbursement is planned for 2024.
Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an estimate of the number of kilometres of transmission network that will be added to the electricity grid in the (a) 2020s, (b) 2030s and (c) 2040s.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not estimate the future size of the transmission network. The Electricity System Operator, along with Transmission Operators and Ofgem, is responsible for the development of the network. The ESO is required to publish annual recommendations for which transmission network reinforcement projects should receive investment, but this does not include data on the length of projects. The latest recommendations, published in the 'Beyond 2030' report, cover network needs up to the mid-2030s. The report is available on the ESO's website.
Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many kilometres of transmission network were added to the electricity grid in the period (a) between 1994 and 1999, (b) between 2000 and 2009, (c) between 2010 and 2019 and (d) since 2019.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not hold historic data of annual transmission network build. As stated in the Electricity Networks Strategic Framework, in 2021 there were approximately 20,000km of onshore high voltage transmission cables in the UK.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing the budget for Pot 1 of the Contracts for Difference AR6 to ensure that Government targets for established technologies are met.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
National Grid ESO (NG ESO) is currently assessing applications to Allocation Round 6 of the Contracts for Difference scheme. Later this year, the Secretary of State will have an opportunity to review the budget following receipt of the formal valuation of applications from NG ESO.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of lowering the market reference prices for the Contracts for Difference AR6 on the (a) budget that can be allocated to projects during the auction, (b) number of projects that can be awarded in that round and (c) total capacity that will be secured through AR6.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The reference prices we use for the Contracts for Difference budget are an output from the Department’s main power model and are characteristic of decarbonisation pathways that are net-zero consistent.
Budgets are set based on a wide range of factors such as an assessment of the pipeline of projects that could participate in the auction, rather than being a pre-determined monetary constraint. If reference prices were higher or lower, the budget would change accordingly, and approximately the same capacity would likely be successful in the auction.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will have discussions with Ofgem on ensuring that energy consumers who are not in debt are not financially disadvantaged as a result of energy companies minimising exposure to their commercial risk of bad debt through higher standing charges.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The setting of standing charges is a commercial matter for individual suppliers, within the context of Ofgem regulating aspects of standing charges. This includes setting a cap as part of the overall default tariff cap, thus ensuring millions of households pay a fair price for their energy.
Ofgem launched a call for input on standing charges, looking into how they are applied to energy bills and what alternatives could be considered, which closed in January 2024. I am supportive of Ofgem’s decision to gather evidence on the current standing charge model and will seek updates in due course. Moreover, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State and I wrote a joint letter to Ofgem in March highlighting the Government’s expectation that standing charges should be kept as low as possible.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what options are available to members of the public who wish to complain about responses provided by their local transmission operators.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Members of the public dissatisfied with the service provided by network companies can follow the established complaints procedure overseen by Ofgem. Under the procedure, they should escalate the issue within the network company first, with subsequent referral to the Energy Ombudsman or Ofgem if required. Details on the procedure are available on all network companies' and Ofgem's websites.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
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 merits of enabling transition between technologies when applying for Renewable Heat Incentive payments when a given technology is not feasible after technical review.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Non-Domestic and Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive schemes are closed to new applications. Therefore, the Government does not plan to make such an assessment, given that new applications can no longer be made to the schemes.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many and what proportion of householders declined the installation of a smart meter in 2023.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department does not hold information on households declining a smart meter installation.