Written questions by Shelbrooke.

What the average cost of energy bills was for people (a) with and (b) without smart meters in the latest period for which data is available; and what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of households with smart meters.

Recent independent evaluation showed that households with smart meters use less energy (equivalent to a cost saving of approximately £40 for the typical household in 2023) on average annually than those with analogue meters. Smart meters also unlock time-of-use tariffs, enabling customers to save money by using energy when demand is low, or when excess clean electricity is available. To drive progress on the rollout, the Government has set a Targets Framework which sets energy suppliers binding minimum annual smart meter installation targets, alongside requirements for energy suppliers to operate them in smart mode, which are enforced by Ofgem.

If his Department will take steps to accelerate the (a) clearance and (b) restoration of legacy nuclear sites.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s (NDA) mission is to clean up the UK's legacy nuclear sites safely, securely, and cost effectively and release them for beneficial reuse. Due to the nature and scale of the mission, delivery remains subject to significant challenges and complexities. The NDA works with stakeholders including government, regulators, and local communities to ensure that the decommissioning of their sites is safe, sustainable and publicly acceptable, and enables their beneficial reuse as early as possible. An example of where reuse has already happened is the former Berkeley Technology Centre by South Gloucestershire Council.

What steps his Department is taking to help mitigate the risk of thermal runaways in battery energy storage facilities.

Grid-scale batteries are regulated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) within a framework which requires battery designers, installers and operators to take the necessary measures to ensure health and safety throughout all stages of the system’s construction, operation and decommissioning. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) is considering options, including environmental permitting, to further mitigate thermal runaway risk in battery storage facilities. The Department’s officials are supporting this work.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of hydrogen blending to (a) decrease hydrogen production costs, (b) decrease wind curtailment costs, (c) scale hydrogen production and (d) align with EU plans to blend hydrogen into gas transmission pipelines.

The Government remains committed to examining the case for hydrogen blending and is reviewing plans. This work aims to gather evidence on the feasibility, costs and benefits of hydrogen blending that can inform decisions on its potential role.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of developing a dedicated hydrogen pipeline across Great Britain.

The Government is assessing hydrogen pipeline transport options, including the possibility of a core network, in its strategic planning of hydrogen transport infrastructure. Hydrogen transport will be critical to the development of the hydrogen economy and to meeting our net zero ambitions and carbon budgets. The hydrogen economy will also unlock economic benefits and increase energy security and resilience. In December 2023, Government published its ambition for the first allocation round of the hydrogen transport and storage business models to support up to two storage projects at scale and associated regional pipeline infrastructure to be in operation or construction by 2030.

When he plans to publish his decision on whether to allow hydrogen blending into the gas transmission network.

The Government remains committed to examining the case for hydrogen blending and is reviewing plans. This work aims to gather evidence on the feasibility, costs and benefits of hydrogen blending that can inform decisions on its potential role.

Whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the Health and Safety Executive’s evaluation of the safety case for blending hydrogen in the transmission network.

The Government remains committed to examining the case for hydrogen blending and is reviewing plans. This work aims to gather evidence on the feasibility, costs and benefits of hydrogen blending that can inform decisions on its potential role.

Whether it is his target to produce 10GW of green hydrogen by 2030; and if he will take steps to publish a roadmap for meeting this target.

This Government is focussed on getting the UK’s first low carbon hydrogen production projects built, which is why in the Autumn Budget we committed £2.3bn in revenue funding for 11 green hydrogen projects from the first Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR1). The second Hydrogen Allocation Round is now underway to support further green hydrogen production capacity. The Government is also supporting carbon capture and storage enabled hydrogen production and in October 2024 we announced up to £21.7bn of available funding over 25 years to launch the UK’s new CCUS industry. We will publish a Hydrogen Strategy Update to the Market this winter, including further information on recent hydrogen developments and a forward look.