Written questions by Coutinho.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Gas Shippers Obligation on energy bills.

The Department consulted on the design of the Gas Shipper Obligation (GSO) earlier this year and published an analytical annex focusing on its impact on gas users, based on Hydrogen Allocation Round 1 estimated costs. The affordability of energy bills remains a key priority for the government and the design of the GSO will consider energy bill affordability, value for money, and fairness.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the target for 10GW of hydrogen production capacity on energy bills by 2030.

The Government believes that the only way to guarantee our energy security and protect billpayers permanently is to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels and towards homegrown clean energy. Low carbon hydrogen is a key option for decarbonising hard to electrify industrial processes, heavy transport, and deliver clean power. Government support is a temporary bridge to unlock private investment and reduce costs, with all supported projects having to deliver value for money. As production scales and costs fall, future projects will need less support. Our Hydrogen Strategy, which we intend to publish this Autumn, will set out more on expected hydrogen supply and demand.

What proportion of total UK electricity consumption is used by businesses eligible for the British Industry Supercharger.

The British Industry Supercharger was launched in 2024 and provides support to over 450 companies in energy intensive industries with some of the highest electricity costs.The government estimates that support on electricity prices for EIIs in the form of the Supercharger could be worth (on average) around £24-£31 Per MegaWatt Hour (MWh) for eligible businesses.

What the total cost of procuring frequency control services was in each month since January 2022.

The data requested is a matter of public record and is published by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) here under the headings “MBSS” and “MBSS Archive”.

What process was used to appoint Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon as Chair of the Race Equality Engagement Group.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

Whether the members of the Race Equality Engagement Group will be remunerated.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

When she plans to announce the members of the Race Equality Engagement Group.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

Whether members of the Race Equality Engagement Group will subject to an assessment of any (a) potential and (b) actual conflicts of interest.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

Whether she plans to publish terms of reference for the Race Equality Engagement Group.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

How many full time equivalent civil service staff will be allocated to support the work of the Race Equality Engagement Group.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

What process will be used to appoint members of the Race Equality Engagement Group.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

When he plans to publish his Department's hydrogen to power business model.

In December 2024, the Government committed to implementing a Hydrogen to Power Business Model (H2PBM) to de-risk Hydrogen to Power investment by mitigating deployment barriers.Later this year, we will publish a H2PBM market engagement exercise outlining further design details for the H2PBM, including our minded to positions on eligibility and assessment criteria and proposed next steps for allocating support through the business model.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2025 to Question 43723 on Carbon Emissions: Trees, whether it is standard practice for officials in his Department to receive time-limited access to documents when negotiating subsidy arrangements.

DESNZ officials were granted access by Drax to review the KPMG reports in January 2025. These reports were internal fact-finding documents, commissioned by Drax under legal privilege to review their biomass supply chain against the sustainability requirements of existing arrangements. Drax granted DESNZ access to these internal documents which enabled Government to better understand their contents and the conclusions of Ofgem’s investigation, which we support.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the CO2 released annually by Drax Power Station on the ability of the UK to meet the emissions reduction targets included in the Climate Change Committee's Carbon Budgets.

CO2 emissions from the combustion of biomass at Drax Power Station are not included in the assessment of emissions in Carbon Budgets. This is consistent with international guidelines established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which require CO2 emissions from the combustion of biomass to be accounted for in the land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector of the country in which the biomass was harvested, rather than at the point of release to the atmosphere.

For what reason his Department has not conducted an impact assessment of its proposed extension of the Drax Power Station subsidy arrangements.

We are conducting a rigorous economic assessment of the proposed support for Drax, including detailed value for money analysis. Our current analysis shows that the new arrangement will halve the level of consumer subsidy compared to existing arrangements. This is equivalent to a saving of nearly £6 per household in average annual bills. When compared to the cost of securing alternative dispatchable capacity for this timeframe, the arrangement with Drax will save consumers £170m a year.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of increasing the price per megawatt hour of the subsidies received by the Drax Power Station by 13% on his plans to reduce household energy bills by up to £300.

The strike price for the proposed low carbon dispatchable CfD with Drax is £113 MWh (2012 prices) compared to £100 MWh (2012 prices) currently. This modest increase reflects that Drax’s fixed operating costs will be spread over far fewer units of generation. However, the proposed CfD arrangement caps the volume of supported generation to an annual load factor of 27%. Our analysis shows this would halve overall subsidy payments relative to current arrangements, resulting in a decrease of around £6 on the average household bill. Further, this arrangement incentivises dispatchable biomass generation only when the system needs it, ensuring consumers can benefit from cheaper wind and solar power at other times.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2025 to Question 43723 on Carbon Emissions: Trees, if he will ask Drax Group plc to share the interim KPMG report of December 2022 with Members of Parliament.

The KPMG reports were commissioned by Drax as a confidential internal fact-finding exercise and are the property of Drax. The government does not hold them. It is for Drax to decide whether they wish to release them to Parliament or the public. Ofgem has already published significant details as to how these reports were considered as part of their investigation.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2025 to Question 43723 on Carbon Emissions: Trees, if he will publish minutes of meetings with officials where the KPMG report was discussed.

We have determined that it would not be in the public interest to release further information on this issue in this instance. Protecting commercially sensitive information facilitates the frank exchange of information between the private sector and government, and ensures ministers and civil servants can have honest, unfiltered discussions during the policy-making process.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2025 to Question 43723 on Carbon Emissions: Trees, if he will publish emails where the KPMG report was discussed.

We have determined that it would not be in the public interest to release further information on this issue in this instance. Protecting commercially sensitive information facilitates the frank exchange of information between the private sector and government, and ensures ministers and civil servants can have honest, unfiltered discussions during the policy-making process.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2025 to Question 47816 on Renewable Energy: Electricity Generation, what the annual cost to consumers of the Offtaker of Last Resort scheme has been since 2015.

Since its launch there have been no applications to the OLR scheme and no Backstop PPAs have been entered into. The only costs related to the scheme are the administrative costs incurred by Ofgem. The cost of the scheme for 2024/25 was £26,902. Details of the activities associated with these costs can be accessed here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/offtaker-last-resort-olr-annual-report-april-2023-march-2024