Written question asked by Steve Reed (Labour) on Wednesday, 27 February 2019, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 4 March 2019 (named day). It was answered by Claire O'Neill (Conservative) on Monday, 4 March 2019 on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Energy: Prices

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on consumer energy prices of the UK leaving the EU (a) with and (b) without a deal.

Answer: The UK is seeking broad energy cooperation with the EU including arrangements for trade in electricity and gas, cooperation with EU Agencies and bodies, and data sharing to facilitate market operations. All these are designed to ensure continuity in terms of effects on consumer energy prices. In line with our continued commitment to ensuring that business is prepared for EU Exit in all scenarios, we set out the implications of no deal for UK energy in our technical notices on trading electricity and gas. In either scenario, the UK’s exit from the EU will not alter the fact that our energy system is resilient, secure and drawn from a number of sources. The UK will remain physically linked to the EU post-exit through interconnectors, and the UK gas market is one of the most liquid and developed markets in the world and provides security through diversity of supply, the majority of which does not depend on the EU.

Secondary information