I believe that fans are the lifeblood of the game—where would we be without them? They always have the best interests of their club at heart, and clubs should do everything they possibly can to make tickets as affordable as possible.

Regional electricity bills, based on fixed consumption levels are published in Quarterly Energy Prices, table 2.2.3 and table 2.2.4:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/annual-domestic-energy-price-statistics.

Annual UK electricity prices by PES (Public Electricity Supply) Region in pence kWh

Data above are based on a fixed annual consumption of 3,800kWh in each year.

Regional gas bills, based on fixed consumption levels are published in Quarterly Energy Prices, table 2.3.3 and table 2.3.4:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/annual-domestic-energy-price-statistics

Annual UK gas prices by PES (Public Electricity Supply) Region in pence kWh

Data above are based on a fixed annual consumption of 15,000kWh in each year.

Ofgem are responsible for regulating the electricity Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) and the setting of the price control review. Ofgem’s latest estimate for the Rate of Return on Equity for each of the DNOs is in the attached table which covers the years 2010-11 to 2013-14. The last year of Distribution Price Control Review 5 (2014-15) is still on-going.

DECC do not produce monthly estimates of gas and electricity costs. A monthly index of the price of domestic gas and electricity is published by the Office for National Statistics as part of their Consumer Price Index. This series is an index with 2005 prices = 100.

In 2014 DECC estimates that the average price of electricity was 15.57 pence/kWh based on annual consumption of 3,800 kWh/year, with the average price of gas 5.02 pence/kWh based on consumption of 15,000 kWh / year.

Ofgem regulates network expenditure through the price control processes, which set out how much the network companies can spend and what can be passed through to consumers over an eight-year period. Network costs are charged to network users on a cost reflective basis to ensure that the networks are built, maintained and operated in an economically efficient way.

DECC publishes average bill impacts. In March 2013, the Government published estimates of the impact of energy and climate change policies on energy prices and bills for 2013, 2020 and 2030:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/172923/130326_-_Price_and_Bill_Impacts_Report_Final.pdf.

The Department does not make its own estimates of wholesale prices for electricity. We typically source market data from sources such as from Marex Spectron.

The Hinkley Point C strike price in 2012 prices is £89.50/MWh indexed to the Consumer Price Index. This price benefits from upfront reduction of £3/MWh built in on assumption that EdF will be able to share first of a kind costs of EPR reactors across Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C sites. If the final investment decision is not taken on Sizewell C, the Strike Price for Hinkley Point C will be £92.50/MWh in 2012 prices. The Department has not restated the strike price in October 2014 prices.

We have not made such a calculation.

The projected allocation from the levy control framework for feed in tariffs, the renewables obligation and projects agreed under the final investment decision-enabling process in financial years from 2015/16 to 2020/21 will be published in an annex (‘DECC’s Consumer Funded Policies – a report to Parliament’) to the Annual Energy Statement.

Publication of the Annual Energy Statement is expected in Autumn 2014.

The Government published its latest Impact Assessment on the Capacity Market in June 2014.¹ This shows that the impact of the capacity market is estimated to be an increase in the average annual domestic electricity bill of £2 (or 0.3%) over the period 2016-30 (in 2012 prices). In percentage terms, the impacts on non-domestic bills are of similar magnitude. The impacts on electricity bills for individual years are uncertain but Table 7 of the Impact Assessment sets out the impact for each five-year period from 2011 to 2030.

We will shortly be publishing updated Capacity Market analysis, including revised household bill impacts, to take account of the decision of the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), on the amount of capacity to procure in the first delivery year (2018-19). We do not expect this change to have a material impact on the costs to consumers.¹ Available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/324430/Final_Capacity_Market_Impact_Assessment.pdf

No forecasts have been made of the price of uranium. However, reactor fuel forms a low proportion of the cost of nuclear power generation so the cost of generating electricity from nuclear power stations is unlikely to fluctuate greatly as a result of changes in the cost of uranium.

The Offtaker of Last Resort (OLR) will support independent renewable generators by providing them with a guaranteed route to market and improving their ability to raise project finance.

My officials have worked closely with developers and other stakeholders in working up the OLR proposals. The policy design is already at an advanced stage, and the detail of the proposals has been recently consulted on. We are on track to deliver the final policy and introduce enabling regulations ahead of first allocation

of contracts for difference (CfDs). CfD applicants will have a high degree of clarity about the arrangements for OLR in advance of the first auctions.

The Government considers that the proposed policies are compatible with EU state aid guidelines on competitive bidding and is currently engaging with the European Commission on the matter.

My officials have worked closely with developers and other stakeholders in working up the Offtaker of Last Resort proposals. The policy design is already at an advanced stage, and the detail of the proposals has been recently consulted on. We are on track to deliver the final policy and introduce enabling regulations ahead of first allocation of CfDs. CfD applicants will, therefore, have a high degree of clarity about the arrangements for OLR, well in advance of the first auctions.

After the regulations come into force, time will be required to establish the processes for allocation of backstop PPAs and apportionment of their costs between licensed suppliers, but we do not consider that this will constitute a significant impediment to projects which secure CfDs through the auction. Furthermore, the OLR has been designed to be a last resort and generators will need to have commercial offtake arrangements in place in order to secure investment.

Auctions can be used to drive value for money once the market is sufficiently developed. We consider that market conditions are such that for some, more established technologies this will be the case. For established technologies, the proposed move to competition builds on the strong progress on cost reduction and the well-developed pipeline. For less established technologies, our aim is to ensure that they can deploy at levels which enable continued cost reduction and which ultimately support cheaper deployment in the long-term.

We continue to develop and implement our detailed proposals for competitive allocation of CfDs, which has the potential to improve value for money, encourage new entry and drive innovation. In developing our proposals we have also been mindful of the final EU Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy 2014-20 published on 9 April, which indicate the need for a move to competitive processes for some technologies.

The Offtaker of Last Resort (OLR) mechanism will increase competition and reduce PPA discounts by enabling independent generators and lenders to rely on shorter-term PPAs and a wider variety of PPA counterparties. Powers were taken in the Energy Act 2013 to enable the establishment of the OLR. We are minded to report on the OLR scheme annually, and to undertake a comprehensive review of it at the end of the first EMR Delivery Plan in 2018-19. Annual reporting would cover a range of market performance measures, including the level of competition in the PPA market.

The Government is committed to ensuring that a broad range of developers and projects are able to access the CfD, and is introducing the Offtaker of Last Resort (OLR) to guarantee independent renewable generators a route to market and improve their ability to raise project finance. Ultimately the financing of individual projects is a matter for developers. Projects applying for CfDs will be at different stages of development, including the extent to which they have engaged with and/or agreed terms with financiers. However, the CfD offers a number of important advantages over the renewables obligation, including providing developers and their financiers with the certainty of a private-law contract which will be awarded to successful projects years ahead of the point at which some projects can accredit under the renewables obligation.

Details of meetings between the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), and external organisations are published quarterly on the departmental website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-meeting-with-external-organisations

I met National Grid on Wednesday 9 April 2014 and Ministers do so regularly.