Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if her Department will take steps to ensure that (a) the UK is energy secure and independent and (b) reliance on foreign gas supplies and cross border electrical connections coupled with decommissioning of UK energy resources does not result in an energy shortage in the UK in the next 10 years.

Andrea Leadsom

Energy security is my top priority. The Department will take the steps needed to ensure hard working families and business have the energy they need, including from overseas where this adds to the diversity and cost effectiveness of our energy supplies.

Interconnection provides greater security of supply as we import from a diverse generation mix, allowing us to access, for example, Norway’s large amounts of hydropower.

The UK has an open and competitive gas market in which gas is traded freely. Gas enters the UK system from a range of sources including the UK Continental Shelf, Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as the LNG imports. This diverse and flexible range of domestic and foreign supplies ensures security of supply, encourages competition and helps to lower energy costs for British consumers and industry.