§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to develop regulatory arrangements to exploit the potential for renewable energy developments in Scotland consistent with(a) Ofgem's statutory objectives and (b) Transmission System Owners' licence obligations. [122574]
§ Mr. TimmsThe British Electricity Trading and Transmission Arrangements (BETTA) are currently under development and the Government is committed to bringing forward legislation in time to implement BETTA in April 2005. BETTA will give all renewable generators in Scotland access to a GB wide market and will ensure that the costs of investment in the infrastructure in Scotland needed to meet our renewables targets can be spread across all GB users.
Ofgem have asked the Government to bring forward the legislation necessary to bring in BETTA because the new arrangements are in line with Ofgem's duties to protect the interests of customers by promoting competition where possible. BETTA will require changes to the licence obligations placed on the Transmission System Owners. All changes to these licences are being consulted on as part of the consultation process on BETTA.
§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her policy is on improvements to the National Grid as set out in the Transmission Issues Working Group Final Report; what discussions she has had with(a) Ofgem and (b) electricity transmission companies on (i) improvements to the National Grid and (ii) the delivery of renewable energy targets; and if she will make a statement. [122577]
§ Mr. TimmsIt is clear that the transmission grid has to be modified and strengthened in order to accommodate the Government's renewable energy targets. The Transmission Issues Working Group final report has led to work commencing on the planning studies for measures required to increase the export of renewable energy from Scotland by upgrading the existing network infrastructure.
The Transmission Issues Working Group is still in existence and meets again shortly. It comprises of representatives from the DTI, Ofgem, National Grid Transco, Scottish Power and Scottish and Southern. Its key areas of interest are the upgrade of the transmission grid to accommodate new renewable energy generation located in Scotland and off the coasts of England and Wales.