Written questions by McMurdock.

What estimates his Department holds for the number of power cuts affecting South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency in the last 3 years.

Great Britain has a highly resilient energy network. Government works closely with industry to improve and maintain the resilience of energy infrastructure, including UK Power Networks, the Distribution Network Operator (DNO) for South Basildon and East Thurrock. Whilst there is a high level of redundancy in the system, it is not immune from disruption. When incidents do occur, industry have well practiced plans to minimise impacts as quickly as possible.The Government does not hold information on constituency level power cuts. DNOs are incentivised by the independent regulator, Ofgem, to minimise customer supply disruptions, and must report to Ofgem on performance against annual targets.

What recent steps his Department has taken to ensure energy security in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency.

Steps are being taken to improve our energy security , which will benefit local areas such as the South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency. Through Clean Power 2030, the Government is reducing dependency on fossil fuel markets by investing in clean, home-grown energy. Delivering the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan will require £40 billion of investment into generation and network projects per year, through significant upgrades to the grid system, ending delays by expanding the renewable auction process, and speeding up planning decisions to prioritise critical infrastructure.

What data he will require fuel retailers to provide under the Fuel Finder scheme.

Under the Fuel Finder scheme, fuel retailers must register all forecourts they are responsible for and provide details including site name, brand, location, available amenities and relevant contact information. From 2 February 2026, they will be legally required to report the current selling price for each fuel grade within 30 minutes of any change. This information will be aggregated and published as open data to enable price transparency and consumer comparison.

With reference to the press release entitled Fuel margins remain “persistently high” and this is not explained by operating costs, CMA finds, published on 22 December 2025, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the Competition and Markets Authority findings on the pricing behaviour of large supermarket fuel retailers.

We welcome the CMA’s work monitoring road fuel prices and note its findings of 22 December 2025. The Government is committed to ensuring drivers get a fair deal and is implementing an open data scheme, Fuel Finder, which will provide near real time fuel price information to increase transparency in the market. The scheme will be reviewed within three years, including it has helped to reduce fuel prices. This review will consider implications across the sector, including large supermarket fuel retailers. The CMA will use Fuel Finder data to inform its ongoing market monitoring assessments, supporting transparency and competition in the market.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Clean Power 2030 target in reducing average household energy bills.

The Government and Prime Minister is fully committed to delivering clean power by 2030. Last December, we published the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, which provides the foundation for the UK to build an energy system that can bring down bills for households and businesses for good, and protect them against future price shocks. For example, NESO modelling showed that if gas use for power generation remained at the levels of 2023 and gas prices were raised to the peak levels in 2022 (300 p/therm on average), this would add around £12 billion to annual electricity system costs in Great Britain. In the clean power pathways, a similar price shock would only add around £5 billion.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the capacity of the UK’s energy infrastructure to meet demand from data centres.

The Department’s energy and emissions projections include growth in power demand from computing services such as data centres. However, to ensure a comprehensive view of the energy system, the methodology projects at a broader sector level, not disaggregating specific estimates for data centres. The Capacity Market ensures supply meets demand. It operates by securing most of the required capacity four years in advance, with additional capacity secured one year ahead based on updated forecasts. This approach ensures Great Britain meets the Reliability Standard, which balances cost and reliability to maintain adequate electricity security.

What steps he is taking to ensure that electricity demand from data centres does not (a) adversely impact energy security and (b) increase costs for (i) households and (ii) businesses.

The electricity system benefits from a diverse energy mix, with the Capacity Market ensuring supply meets demand. The Government is committed to ensuring electricity networks can meet rising electricity demand, including from data centres. The Capacity Market ensures supply meets demand. It operates by securing most of the required capacity four years in advance, with additional capacity secured one year ahead based on updated forecasts. This approach ensures Great Britain meets the Reliability Standard, which balances cost and reliability to maintain adequate electricity security. As a part of the AI Growth Zones programme, the government will encourage data centres to locate in areas where their energy demand reduces the strain on the system by utilising excess renewable energy generation (such as Scotland, Cumbria and the North East). The design of this policy is ongoing and will soon go out to consultation.Cost controls will be incorporated, to minimise the risk of any gap between price support and constraint costs appearing on consumer bills.

Whether he plans to provide financial support to encourage (a) undergrounding, (b) offshore routing and (c) other alternate routing of electricity pylons in rural and environmentally sensitive areas.

The Government does not fund the delivery of network infrastructure. Network company investments are funded through consumer bills, and this funding is regulated by Ofgem through the price control process. The design and development of electricity transmission infrastructure is a matter for the developer, including conducting necessary assessments of projects’ impacts on the environment, with the implications of those choices considered through the planning process. The energy National Policy Statement for electricity networks (EN-5) sets out a starting presumption for overhead lines in most cases and identifies when undergrounding or subsea cables should be considered.

What plans he has to update regulatory framework to support the use of underground electricity infrastructure in national projects.

Ofgem, as the independent regulator of network developers, is responsible for updating the regulatory framework for electricity networks, including on the use of underground infrastructure. The Government is responsible for planning policy, which for major electricity network infrastructure projects is set out in National Policy Statement EN-5 which sets out the planning framework for overhead lines and other electricity network infrastructure. This policy is currently under review following a consultation in April and any changes will be published in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 May to Question 53448 on Carbon Capture and Storage, what steps his Department is taking to safeguard against over-subsidisation of specific (a) projects and (b) technologies.

The CCUS Cluster Sequencing Process, which is the selection of the initial carbon dioxide transport & storage networks and projects, and the CCUS business models, under which individual awards for projects are made, have been developed to align with the UK subsidy control regime as per the Subsidy Control Act 2022 and are subject to mandatory referral to the Subsidy Advice Unit, part of the Competition Markets Authority. These business models support the development of transport and storage CO2 networks, as well as the deployment of CCUS in the power, industrial and hydrogen sectors.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 May to Question to 53448 on Carbon Capture and Storage, how the the funding models will be evaluated to ensure value for money.

Detailed and robust Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Plans have been developed for the various CCUS funding models. The M&E plans map out the evaluation activities, methodology, data sources and resource needed for the various types of evaluations, including value-for-money (VfM) assessments. The VfM assessments across the CCUS programme will assess the extent to which public funds were used in the most cost-effective way possible to deliver results. Robust VfM evaluation methodologies that are relevant and suitable for the CCUS programme will be used, including Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and the National Audit Office 4Es VfM approach, to allow a rigorous and systematic analysis of the costs and benefits. These methods will demonstrate VfM by evaluating whether the CCUS programme is cost-effective, impactful, and equitable.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 May to Question 53448 on Carbon Capture and Storage, (a) how the levy will be structured and (b) who will be responsible for paying it.

There is a mixture of funding routes to support carbon capture and storage projects in the UK, including levies placed on energy suppliers and gas shippers. There are two levies relevant to the CCUS programme. Firstly, the Electricity Supplier Obligation, which is placed on licensed electricity suppliers who may then pass this cost on to their consumers. This levy supports renewable and low carbon electricity production. The second is the Gas Shipper Obligation, which is intended to be an obligation placed on gas shippers to fund certain hydrogen production projects. The Government has recently consulted on the design of the Gas Shipper Obligation and design considerations are ongoing.

How his Department is ensuring the (a) transparency and (b) accountability of carbon capture projects funded by public money.

The Government has developed a series of models to incentivise behaviour in line with our objectives and deliver value for money for consumers and taxpayers. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority provides oversight of the Programme, as a Government’s Major Projects Portfolio, through Gateway Reviews and reporting, and the programme has been subject to National Audit Office reviews and Public Accounts Committee hearings. Partner organisations, such as OFGEM, Low Carbon Contracts Company, and Central Grants and Loans have a key role in providing accountability through monitoring the performance of the Transport & Storage Companies and emitters. The contracts set out regulations according to which support can be withdrawn where key milestones are not met. The Full Business Cases and associated assessments will be published in due course.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that carbon capture and storage does not disproportionately impact energy bills for consumers.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the costs of the UK’s transition to Net Zero are fair and affordable for all energy consumers. The CCUS programme will be funded through a mixture of levy and government funding. We have created several business models to fund CCUS projects based on the technology they are using, designed to support this nascent industry whilst ensuring value for money.

What his planned timeline is for the carbon capture sites in Merseyside and Teesside.

Having reached financial close with East Coast Cluster in December 2024, and with the HyNet Transport and Storage Company, operated by Liverpool Bay CCS, in April 2025, construction is already underway, and we expect the Transport & Storage Companies to be operational from 2028. We continue to negotiate with other Track-1 projects and hope to conclude these negotiations as soon as possible subject to several assessments, including value for money.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the potential risks of carbon capture and storage facilities.

Carbon capture and the transport and storage of CO2 are safe technologies underpinned by strong regulatory frameworks to mitigate potential risks associated with those activities. There are several regulators in the UK in place to protect human health and the environment, including: Environment Agency (EA) Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED), Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Natural Resources Wales and SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency) Additionally, the storage permit, regulated by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), for a storage site will only be issued when the NSTA are confident that there will be no significant risk of leakage or of harm to the environment and human health from the CO2 storage.

What assessment his Department has made of the long-term (a) safety and (b) environmental impact of carbon capture facilities.

Carbon capture and the transport and storage of CO2 are safe technologies underpinned by strong regulatory frameworks to mitigate potential risks associated with those activities. There are several regulators in the UK in place to protect human health and the environment, including: Environment Agency (EA) Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED), Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Natural Resources Wales and SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency) Additionally, the storage permit, regulated by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), for a storage site will only be issued when the NSTA are confident that there will be no significant risk of leakage or of harm to the environment and human health from the CO2 storage.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a requirement for consultation response feedback to be made publicly available.

The Department publishes the government’s responses to consultations on GOV.UK. In line with the Cabinet Office consultation principles, these documents explain the responses that have been received from consultees and how they have informed the policy.

Whether his Department has had recent discussions with head teachers on the rising cost of energy for schools.

Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK

What assessment he has made of the long-term sustainability of the solar panels being installed under the Great British Energy scheme in relation to their (a) lifespan, (b) efficiency degradation and (c) recyclability.

We expect panels delivered under this scheme to have an estimated lifespan of 30 years [with a 0.5% yearly attrition rate] which is based on our published assumptions. Recyclability is a critical factor in the sustainability of solar panels and the schools and NHS trusts receiving solar panels under this scheme will be responsible for ensuring appropriate end-of-life management of panels under this scheme.