§ Mr. BaconTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions she has had with Ofgem about the state of preparedness of(a) electricity generation and (b) electricity distribution companies to cope with emergencies arising from severe weather conditions. [78554]
§ Mr. WilsonThe Department is in regular contact with Ofgem regarding aspects of the resilience of the electricity generation, transmission and distribution system. In particular Ofgem participated in the steering group for a study of the emergency preparedness of the transmission and distribution systems which we published in May. Following Sunday's storms I announced that we would be testing the conclusions of this study, which were generally positive, against the actual response in difficult conditions. I have asked for a review of how companies performed and for recommendations to help them ensure that future supplies to consumers are not affected to the same extent. Ofgem will be fully involved in the review.