Speeches by Chope.

“Does the Treasury letter you referred to give any reasons for this, or any prospect that the Treasury recognises the importance of this issue?”

“Could it take another year or two to get an answer?”

“Does the Treasury letter you referred to give any reasons for this, or any prospect that the Treasury recognises the importance of this issue?”

“On the CBAM point, to what extent do you think this is impacting or could impact the financial viability of the four remaining oil refineries?”

“Minister, you heard the evidence about CBAM, and you say that it is all the fault of the Treasury that it cannot get the resources together to do anything by January 2028. Surely, if you feel very strongly, as I think you do, that we need to protect our four remaining refineries and help them compete in global markets,…”

“As the Chair has said, new circumstances provide an opportunity to revisit policies and manifesto commitments. Bearing in mind what is happening in the world, do you think you should renege on your manifesto commitment not to have any more exploration licences in the North sea? That seems rather crazy now, in the light…”

“Could it take another year or two to get an answer?”

“They said that if two new officials were appointed by the Treasury, they could get back on the timescale. Do you understand that to be correct?”

“Could it take another year or two to get an answer?”

“£4.5 billion. If you require those companies to recover what is owed to them without giving them a subsidy, surely we would be able to reduce the extraordinarily high sum of money owing. It is related, of course, to us having these extraordinarily high electricity costs, which the Government have promised to bring down…”

“Have I misunderstood it, then? If you receive an electricity bill, and it is subject to the price cap, are you saying that the company is not allowed to put on to the bill the costs of unpaid arrears?”

“Your policy on this has contributed to an exponential increase in the debts—the unpaid bills. Remind me of how many billions of pounds are now owed by customers on their electricity bills.”

“What can you do to stop profiteering? Obviously if I have hedged and I have my supply for $25 million instead of $50 million, I could go out and sell that in a subsidiary market now and make profits for my company. Will I then be able to pass on those costs ultimately to the consumer through the price cap?”

“We have seen the lists showing that we have the highest electricity prices in Europe, both for industrial users and consumers. Do you think that, because of the way in which our market is regulated, our prices for consumers will now be below the highest levels in Europe, both for industrial and domestic consumers?”

“How confident are you that all the major players in the industry have themselves insulated by having long-term contracts? That was the problem last time—that a lot of the companies went bust and the taxpayer ended up bailing them out. Can you assure us that that is not going to happen again?”

“The companies that have hedged successfully against this sort of price hike will be able to take that benefit for themselves, rather than have to pass it on to the consumer?”

“The consumer and industrial pain is going to be deferred as a result of what you are saying, because unlike, for example, at the petrol pumps, the price is not directly reflecting changes in market conditions. What you are saying is that you are going to prevent the energy companies responding with a price mechanism to…”

“Can I ask you about operating costs? Most people would think that it is extraordinary that an electricity company that does not collect what it is owed from its customers should receive some sort of compensation allowance from the regulator. Why do you permit that? Why do not you require energy companies to fund any fa…”

“I am told that a fortnight ago a cargo of liquefied natural gas from the United States would cost about $25 million, delivered to Europe, and now that cost is about $50 million, delivered to Europe. Are you saying that the energy companies should not be buying at that price or are you going to, in a sense, insulate the…”

“Exactly.”