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 signif...

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 n

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.

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.

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 an...

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). T...

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 cons...

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)

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.