Select committee: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee
Recommendation 57
Eleventh Report - Decarbonisation of the power sector
Published 28 Apr 2023
Paragraph 227
Addressed to Department for Business and Trade
Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee Decarbonisation of the power sector All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The current regulatory and market structures of the retail sector will not deliver a consumer experience that can adequately support the transition to decarbonised power system. We recommend that the Government prioritises the reform of the retail market and that its updated Energy Retail Market Strategy: a) clearly sets out the role that suppliers will be expected to play in the transition to a decarbonised power system as well as interim milestones to achieve this; b) enables suppliers to innovate and build sophisticated relationships with customers through the provision of a broader set of energy services; 110 Decarbonisation of the power sector c) allows suppliers to be fairly rewarded for providing services that entice customers to shift and reduce demand, in a way that reflects the additional risks that suppliers will be taking on; and d) removes barriers that prevent vulnerable customers from accessing the benefits that the transition will offer.
From: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee, Eleventh Report - Decarbonisation of the power sector (HC 283), paragraph 227, 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.