Written question asked by Peter Ainsworth (Conservative) on Monday, 8 March 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 11 March 2010. It was answered by David Kidney (Labour) on Thursday, 11 March 2010 on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Electricity

Question: (3) what mechanisms are in place to encourage distribution network operators to procure the most energy efficient distribution transformers; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: DECC's policy is to ensure that grids, including at distribution level support the new generation mix we need to meet our targets.Ofgem did consider setting minimum standards for losses as part of their review of the losses incentive in DPCR5 but opted to retain the output based incentive (which was improved in DPCR5) in order to encourage distribution network operators (DNO's) to manage losses both through low loss technology but also through network operations or network users and to incentivise them to identify ways to tackle the issue of theft.The downside of setting minimum standards would be the need for Ofgem to specify equipment which could lead to the risk of equipment market distortion and could stifle DNO's innovation on technical loss reduction.

Secondary information