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Energy Bill

My Lords, I have to say thank you again to the Government. Amendment No. 69 meets exactly the case that I made on Report and I am grateful for that. On Amendment No. 54, I consulted Ofgem and told it that I would say that it is happy with the amendment. Ofgem has always recognised that it is for Ministers to set policy and for Ofgem as the regulator to operate the policy. I previously had discussions with Ofgem on the amendments that we discussed on Report and it is content with what is being done. I would add that, quite rightly, the Minister had to add rather more words than was in the rather simple amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Oxburgh. I refer to the substantial superstructure that he had built upon some very slender foundations. However, sustainability is now expressly in the amendment and that is good. I am slightly more critical of the amendment on the two-year power which the Government are taking. I have received a representation from one of the companies involved in the negotiations, which states: "““We understand that the Government is using it as a sword above our heads in order to ensure a conclusion is reached, but it is a concern nonetheless””." The noble Lord has given some explanation as to how he sees the Government proceeding on this, but he must be aware that the industry is not totally happy with the deadline. I am sure that it will do its best to try to negotiate proper arrangements. It is the enormously important issue of getting proper access to the grid, as the Ofgem report clearly made out. Will the noble Lord just be aware that there is a feeling that the sword of Damocles is not far away and that the Government need to be reasonably sensitive to that?