Written questions by Heylings.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of introducing Contracts for Difference for heat networks on consumers.

Awaiting answer.

Whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of Germany's Contracts for Difference scheme for industry to electrify and decarbonise effectively.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a cap and floor design to repower renewable energy generation projects post-contract.

Awaiting answer.

Whether he has made an estimate of potential tax revenues arising from the Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gas fields.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Renewable Obligations contracts ending on job losses.

Accreditation under the Renewables Obligation (RO) was always intended to be time limited and generators have known, from the date they were accredited, how long their support would last. The Government will continue to monitor the potential impacts of the closure of the scheme on different technologies.

What measures he plans to introduce to help residents of housing estates with central, metered LPG tanks.

The Government has taken action and announced £53 million for low-income families, who heat their homes with oil, or other alternative fuels like LPG, to help tackle surging prices through the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF).It is at the local authority’s discretion to determine appropriate support by taking a person-centred, needs-based approach. Guidance to LAs is clear that crisis payments can be provided to support energy for any form of fuel that is used for the purpose of domestic heating, cooking or lighting, including oil or portable gas cylinders. The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for the CRF in England and more information on the fund can be found here: Crisis and Resilience Fund (1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029) - GOV.UK. In addition, the Government intends to introduce new consumer protections for LPG customers and is rapidly exploring new ways to step in and ensure households are better protected.

How many hours over the past year has gas generation been online and setting the wholesale price, used not meet power demand but to meet system inertia requirements.

Generation activated to meet the system’s inertia requirements does not set the wholesale price. NESO meets system inertia requirements through procuring in the balancing and ancillary service markets, rather than the wholesale market. The wholesale market operates on the principle of marginal pricing, where the most expensive technology required to meet demand sets the price. However, the balancing market operates on a “pay as bid” model, where generators are paid based on the price they bid into the market, rather than the marginal price.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2025 to Question 99556 on Electricity: Prices, what progress he has made on the reformed national pricing delivery plan; and what his timeline is for publishing that plan.

The Reformed National Pricing Delivery Plan is a key part of our vision for the future GB electricity system. We published the delivery plan today.

Whether he has made any assessment of the potential merits of leveraging private investment in the gas-to-heat-pump transition by underwriting a net saving to the consumer.

Our ambition is to ensure that clean heat is the most attractive and natural option for people when upgrading or replacing their heating system. That means driving down upfront costs, helping with financing and grants, and ensuring everyone can reap the financial benefits with cheaper electricity and smart tariffs. The recent Budget took unprecedented steps to drive down electricity costs for all households, while those with electric heating stand to benefit most.

What his timeline is for rolling out the trial for discounted energy bills in areas of high wind generation.

The trial will launch this winter and we anticipate that it will run until Spring 2028. Measures will be brought forward when parliamentary time allows to enable the government to make enduring changes based on the results of the trial.

What assessment he has made of the potential benefit of encouraging the use of (a) smart energy tariffs and (b) consumer-led flexibility to lower bills for households and businesses.

Consumer Led Flexibility (CLF) can play a key role in lowering household and business electricity bills. CLF, including that facilitated through the uptake of smart tariffs, gives those who choose to participate greater control over their energy usage, and the opportunity to save money. The Clean Flexibility Roadmap includes a chapter on CLF with 42 actions to support it which are being delivered. It also set out on pages 8-9 typical electricity bill savings for those participating in it based on prices current at the time.

What discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Department for Work and Pension and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government about data sharing to offer targeted support for vulnerable households with heating oil.

My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a number of issues. DESNZ officials worked closely with the Department for Work and Pensions, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and His Majesty’s Treasury ahead of the recent announcement of £50m for low-income families, who heat their homes with oil to help tackle surging prices. This funding will be available to the Northern Ireland Executive, Wales, and Scotland. In England, funding will be distributed by local authorities via the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF), which comes into effect from 1 April. In addition, DESNZ is working closely with other Government Departments on the National Data Library (NDL) energy bill support ‘kickstarter’ project to test how public sector data can be better joined up to improve access to government programmes. The Kickstarter project will pave the way for better targeted help, ensuring those who are struggling to pay their bills get the support they need

What discussions he has had with European Union officials about the UK joining the EU's Internal Electricity Market since the exploratory discussions for the UK's possible participation.

Since the exploratory discussions concluded, the Secretary of State has continued constructive engagement with European Union counterparts on regional energy cooperation, including on the United Kingdom’s possible future participation in the Internal Electricity Market. These engagements have underlined shared ambitions to accelerate the development of clean, secure, and lower cost energy sources in the North Seas, which will enable us to reduce our reliance on expensive and volatile fossil fuel imports.

Whether recent developments in Iran will impact the timetable for the introduction of legislation relating to UK energy independence.

In an unstable world, the government is committed to driving for energy sovereignty with clean homegrown power. Conflict in the Middle East is yet another reminder that the only route to energy security and sovereignty for the UK is to get off our dependence on fossil fuel markets we do not control and onto clean homegrown power. Where necessary, and subject to parliamentary time, we intend to pursue the primary legislative changes needed to deliver on our mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower. We will set out our plans in due course.

What his proposed timeline is for the introduction of community benefits applied to energy infrastructure.

In the Clean Power Action Plan, we made it clear that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, they should feel tangible and enduring benefit of doing so. The Government has already announced bill discounts for communities living nearest to new electricity transmission infrastructure and published guidance on community funds from electricity transmission infrastructure and onshore wind in England. Last year, the government published a working paper setting out proposals for mandatory community benefits. We will publish a response to the working paper shortly.

Whether recent developments in Iran will affect the Government’s commitment to meeting its existing climate targets, including the UK’s net zero target and carbon budgets.

Making Britain a clean energy superpower is one of this government’s five missions - delivering clean power by 2030 and accelerating progress towards net zero. The government remains committed to meeting its carbon budgets and net zero by 2050, as required by the Climate Change Act. This is the most effective way to reduce our exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets, protect bill payers and strengthen our energy independence.

If he will publish the (a) minutes and (b) summaries of meetings held with representatives of the European Union on oil and gas prices since 1 March 2026.

Details of the Secretary of State’s meetings are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

If his department will make a formal recommendation to HM Treasury on extending VAT relief to heat batteries for domestic heating.

Tax treatment is the responsibility of HM Treasury and they keep all taxes under review. This government has invested £15 billion in the Warm Homes Plan to help upgrade British homes and cut bills. Whilst we expect heat pumps to be suitable for the vast majority of properties, some may be less suitable and so we are supporting alternative low carbon technologies like heat batteries, air-to-air heat pumps, and biomass boilers. We are also expanding the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to provide more options, including heat batteries.

What steps he is taking to ensure commitments to grid upgrades and decarbonisation are not overlooked due to the demand for data centres to be rapidly connected to the grid.

Government is working closely with Ofgem, NESO and network companies to ensure network capacity is available to support data centre growth, in a way that balances the needs of the energy system and ensures delivery of clean power. This includes taking actions announced in the November 2025 ‘Delivering AI Growth Zones’ publication to manage speculative data centre demand and ensure the most strategic and credible projects are prioritised for connections. Government expects to consult on these measures in due course.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of offering loans or a cashback scheme to SMEs to implement energy efficiency measures; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of this on levels of (a) emissions, and (b) SME energy costs.

Several pilots are running to better understand how we can support SMEs to reduce energy demand, bills and carbon. The Pilot Business Energy Advise Service, providing energy audits and grants in the West Midlands, could have annual saving of £24m in bills and 51,000 tonnes of carbon based on all recommendations being implemented. The ZCS Hospitality Trial, will support c600 hospitality SMEs through online carbon and energy reduction tools, with potential to save over £3m in bills and 2,700 tonnes of carbon annually. The British Business Bank’s pilot Green Growth Guarantee Scheme will facilitate up to £30m of investment in green tech for SMEs and help understand SME appetite for green finance.