Speeches by Downie.

“We have seen similar cyber-attacks in the UK where the Government had to step in—I am sure you are aware of what I am referring to. At what point would you have conversations with utilities and with the Government to determine who meets a large cost? Would that be Ofgem’s role? I guess that is the question.”

“Do you have any conversations with other Government Departments about what has happened in Ukraine, and how that energy network has been protected from cyber-attack—obviously, it is under near-constant cyber and physical attack—as well as about other countries where there have been suspected cyber-attacks?”

“Jonathan, Ofgem has said that targeted cyber-resilience requirements will be needed for the most significant operators. What determination have you made about who fits under the “most significant operator” category? Is it just the big six, or are you looking more widely?”

“On costs, Ofgem has said that calculations show the average cost of a cyber-attack to utilities is about £210,000, with cyber ranking among the top risks across utilities. Who meets those costs, or who would meet those costs in the instance of a cyber-attack?”

“I want to pick up on some issues about modernisation of NESO systems, but also particularly around cyber-security as well. IBM has found that energy is one of the most highly targeted sectors in the UK for cyber-attack. We had the European Union Institute for Security Studies note that some Chinese hackers have shown t…”

“I am keen to understand how often you run tests of that. Is that externally monitored? I do understand the difficulty of giving away how you protect, but could you give as much detail as you can to provide reassurance?”

“Very briefly, as someone who spent quite a large part of their life trying to get renewables projects consented in Scotland, one of the biggest barriers we had with the public was complaints around constraint costs and wind farms being paid to be turned off. It was a recurring theme everywhere we went, which was frustr…”

“Who knew that Scottish weather would be helpful. Thank you.”

“A more general question to Fintan and Claire: Energy UK has suggested that a small investment in modernising NESO systems would deliver billions of pounds in efficiencies, although, to be honest, it was not able to provide details. However, when it comes to NESO systems, what modernisation can be conducted, and how muc…”

“I thank the Chancellor for acknowledging the incredible contribution of the workforce at Rosyth to the roll-out of the Type 31 frigate last week. I also thank her for the ongoing investment in energy infrastructure, particularly as we see increasing challenges in the middle east coming towards energy bills. May I ask h…”

“Iranian action in the strait of Hormuz and the attacks on energy infrastructure risk driving up energy prices here in the UK. Will the Prime Minister, in the coming days and weeks, make it clear that the blame for any rising energy prices lies with Iran? Will he also hold all possible discussions to support people in t…”

“Because they listen to each other. You listen to your peers.”

“The chief executive is not the best message carrier for something corporate; often it is someone much further down the list. I understand the value of a chief executive speaking out in a column in The Times or something. Moving on from that, how do you get to someone? You mentioned the North sea and the north-east of S…”

“I could not agree with you more. I think the other thing is, as someone who did comms for 15 or 20 years, sometimes the chief executive is not the best messenger.”

“Are they willing to help or support the Government in saying to the public, “If you don’t do this, your energy bills will be higher”?”

“That is a discussion I had in a session this morning, where there was a reluctance from some businesses in a particular area to get involved in what they saw as an increasingly politically difficult space. How do you encourage them to do exactly what you have said there and say, “The Government are investing in this, i…”

“You have touched on a couple of these aspects throughout the session, Minister, but looking at some of the trust that Government do or do not carry when it comes to communications, there are two aspects. First, how much of trying to get people to engage and make different choices with energy transitions is about just g…”

“Finally, should we change the name of the Department? Would you like to?”

“I am interested in the key motivation. Is it to stop the increase of forest fires and reduce the risk of flooding? A lot of that would come back to how the Department communicates.”

“You mentioned that 79% of people support action on climate change. Is there any data further to that on what their motivation was for supporting action on climate? Was it saving the planet, lower bills, jobs or investment? I believe the statistic—it sounds right—but the motivation matters almost more than a quick answe…”