Select committee: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee

Recommendation 53

Eleventh Report - Decarbonisation of the power sector Published 28 Apr 2023 Paragraph 217 Addressed to Department for Business and Trade
Recommendation (the committee's words)
To build on the success of the Demand Flexibility Service and ensure that demand- side response can become mainstream, the industry needs the opportunity to do more learning by doing. While necessary system reforms take place to create a more enabling environment for demand-side response, we recommend that National Grid ESO and Ofgem work with industry on developing a transitional demand-side response service that can support existing day-to-day balancing services.

From: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee, Eleventh Report - Decarbonisation of the power sector (HC 283), paragraph 217, 28 April 2023

Government response

The government responded to the whole report on 14 July 2023 (deadline 28 June 2023).

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government welcomes the Committee's report and responds to each recommendation, planning annual reporting on power sector decarbonisation while setting out where it will not adopt specific proposals.

  • On the call for a long-term delivery plan, the government "plans to report on its delivery, and overall plan to deliver the commitment, on an annual basis", and is strengthening its portfolio management approach.
  • On a UK-wide onshore wind target, it states that setting one "would potentially undermine the flexibility needed" across the UK.
  • On biomass, it has "no plans to remove support prior to 2027" for stations already supported, saying they "have a statutory right to their existing support".
  • On Ofgem's duties, it is "content to amend" Ofgem's existing duty on greenhouse gases to refer specifically to the net zero targets in the Climate Change Act 2008.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error