Written question asked by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative) on Monday, 18 July 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 5 September 2011. It was answered by Charles Hendry (Conservative) on Monday, 5 September 2011 on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Electricity

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to ensure that the retrofitting of the public sector estate with energy efficiency measures form part of his plans for electricity market reform.

Answer: The aim of electricity market reform is to ensure the investment we need to meet our security of supply and decarbonisation targets at least cost. Energy efficiency could have a role to play in meeting our targets in a cost-effective way, and we will assess whether the existing package of energy efficiency measures is providing adequate encouragement for efficiency improvements in electricity usage, to determine whether there might be a need for appropriate additional measures.The retrofitting of the public sector estate with energy efficiency measures will not form a specific part of the electricity market reform programme. We encourage all public bodies to invest in energy efficiency, which enables them to reduce costs and CO2 emissions. We have already taken decisive action to reduce central Government emissions by 13.8% (exceeding our original target of a 10% reduction). We are now being even more ambitious with a 25% target by the end of this Parliament.

Secondary information