Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

National Grid Funding: South-west England

Tuesday 19 September 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Electricity networks' funding for the south-west is regulated by Ofgem through the network price control.
  • National Grid Electricity Transmission will be investing approximately 700 million in the south-west under the current price control.
  • The Government are using strategic planning to support investment ahead of the need in the network.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Luke Pollard Labour (Co-op) Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
Energy
Context

The question arises from the need to secure adequate funding for electricity networks in the south-west region of England.

Question

What plans does she have to provide funding for the National Grid in the south-west?

Answer from Andrew Bowie

Electricity networks' funding is regulated by Ofgem through the network price control. In the current price control, National Grid Electricity Transmission will be investing approximately £700 million in the south-west. Ofgem has allowed £5.7 billion for the distribution network company covering the south-west, £1.2 billion of which is for the south-west region specifically.

Answered
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Q2 Luke Pollard Labour (Co-op) Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
Climate Energy
Context

The question arises from concerns about the delay in grid connections for renewable energy schemes, impacting the development of clean power projects in the far south-west.

Question

May I declare an interest as one of my sisters works in the renewable energy sector? I want to see more renewable energy schemes get off the ground in the far south-west, but I am being told that schemes greater than 1 MW have to wait until 2027 at the earliest for a grid connection. This means that dozens of renewable energy schemes are gathering dust on paper, when they should be generating clean power. It is wrong and is setting back our net zero ambitions. What are Ministers doing to speed up grid connections for renewable energy schemes, allowing us to build the already approved clean energy schemes that we need, which will create green jobs, cut carbon and reduce soaring energy bills?

Answer from Andrew Bowie

As the Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero, my right hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart) suggests from a sedentary position, we are doing lots and lots. Specifically, the Government are using strategic planning to support investment ahead of the need in the networks, including the south-west. The first example of that was last year's holistic network design, which set out a blueprint for connecting new offshore wind projects to the grid by 2030. An update to the holistic network design follow-up exercise, HND 2, will be published early next year and provide recommendations for the connection of floating offshore wind specifically in the Celtic sea. For the first time, offshore wind developers participating in the Crown Estate's leasing round 5 will receive clarity over their grid connection from the electricity system operator at the same time as a secure seabed lease.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific actions to speed up grid connections for renewable energy schemes

How: Lots And Lots, We Are Doing Lots And Lots

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