Britain is a global leader in renewable energy. Since 2010, our renewable energy production has grown faster than any other large country in Europe. We are committed to ensuring that the UK remains one of the best places in the world to invest in clean energy and have set stretching deployment ambitions, including up to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030. The Government is supporting renewables deployment through a range of policy levers, including the Contracts for Difference scheme, through which generators have received almost £6 billion net in price support to date.

The Electricity Generator Levy is a proportionate approach to recovering a share of the extraordinary profits being realised by certain generators which will help to fund our vital public services and our support for households and businesses facing increased energy bills.

The importance of continued investment in renewables has been reflected in the design of the levy setting the benchmark price at a level approximately 50% more than the average electricity price over the last decade, indexing the benchmark price to inflation and providing a £10 million allowance below which the levy will not be charged.

Britain is a global leader in renewable energy. Since 2010, our renewable energy production has grown faster than any other large country in Europe. We are committed to ensuring that the UK remains one of the best places in the world to invest in clean energy and have set stretching deployment ambitions, including up to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030. The Government is supporting renewables deployment through a range of policy levers, including the Contracts for Difference scheme, through which generators have received almost £6 billion net in price support to date.

The Electricity Generator Levy is a proportionate approach to recovering a share of the extraordinary profits being realised by certain generators which will help to fund our vital public services and our support for households and businesses facing increased energy bills.

The importance of continued investment in renewables has been reflected in the design of the levy setting the benchmark price at a level approximately 50% more than the average electricity price over the last decade, indexing the benchmark price to inflation and providing a £10 million allowance below which the levy will not be charged.

The Electricity Generator Levy applies to groups generating electricity from nuclear and renewable (including biomass) sources and energy from waste.

The Government outlined its assessment of the merits of applying the Levy to a broader section of generation technologies in paras 1.44 to 1.51 of the technical note published at Autumn Statement which is available online: www.gov.uk/government/publications/electricity-generator-levy-technical-note

The Government is determined to ensure its environmental and social policies work for all energy consumers and increase our energy security.

The Government is setting the new unit rates for the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) from April 2023. This will include consideration of whether green levies will be covered by the EPG.

The Energy Bill Relief Scheme has provided an unprecedented level of support to non-domestic energy consumers during this crisis, and will continue to do so until March 2023. In addition to this, following an HMT-led review into the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, the new Energy Bill Discount Scheme will run from April until March 2024, which will continue to provide a discount to eligible non-domestic customers.

The Electricity Generator Levy is a temporary levy which has been designed to allow generators to retain a proportion of the extraordinary return they are making in excess of a benchmark price which has been set at 1.5 times the average price of electricity over the last decade

In the Government’s view this balances the need to raise revenue to fund public services and energy support for households and businesses, while incentivising the investment needed to fuel our transition to net zero.

Gas generators are excluded from the Electricity Generator Levy (EGL) announced at Autumn Statement and the revenue estimates published at Autumn Statement include low-carbon electricity generation only. The UK’s approach is in step with the approach taken internationally including the EU’s whose proposed cap on the market revenues from electricity producers does not include gas fired generators.

As set out in the Government’s response to Question 92055 while gas generators are experiencing increased revenue from the substantial increase in the market prices of electricity, they are also impacted by the substantial increase in the price of gas. The inclusion of gas generators within the EGL could have unintended impacts on electricity pricing with implications for the market as a whole or on certain business models.

Gas generators are excluded from the Electricity Generator Levy (EGL) announced at Autumn Statement and the revenue estimates published at Autumn Statement include low-carbon electricity generation only. The UK’s approach is in step with the approach taken internationally including the EU’s whose proposed cap on the market revenues from electricity producers does not include gas fired generators.

As set out in the Government’s response to Question 92055 while gas generators are experiencing increased revenue from the substantial increase in the market prices of electricity, they are also impacted by the substantial increase in the price of gas. The inclusion of gas generators within the EGL could have unintended impacts on electricity pricing with implications for the market as a whole or on certain business models.

The Energy Profits Levy (EPL) was introduced in May in response to sharp increases in oil and gas prices over the past year. At the Autumn Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced that the rate of the levy would rise by ten percentage points to 35 per cent, effective from 1 January 2023. The levy has also been extended until 31 March 2028.

The Government has always sought to balance delivering a fair return for the UK from the use of its resources while providing the right conditions to attract investment in the North Sea that is key to support domestic jobs and the nation’s energy security. That is why the levy includes and will retain a new investment allowance, which means for every £1 businesses invest they will overall get a tax saving of around 91p.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecast at Autumn Statement 2022 estimates revenues from EPL are expected to be £41.6 billion between 2022-23 and 2027-28. This is inclusive of the impact of the levy’s investment allowance.

From January 2023, a 45 per cent tax will be levied on extraordinary returns being realised from non-carbon electricity generators, including solar generators, in the UK. The measure will raise around £14.2 billion over the scorecard and help fund support for households and businesses with their energy bills as well as vital public services.

The levy will only be applied to a measure of extraordinary returns defined as returns from selling electricity for a period at an average price of more than £75/MWh. This is approximately 1.5 times the average price of electricity over the last decade. The Government considers this to be a proportionate approach to recovering a proportion of the extraordinary profits electricity generators are receiving whilst leaving them with a sufficient level of return to incentivise investment required to transition to net zero.

The levy will be limited, through a de minimis threshold, to those groups generating more than 100 Gigawatt-hours per annum of electricity from in scope generation assets in a qualifying period and will only be applied on extraordinary profits in excess of £10m for the group. This means smaller generators will not be within scope of the levy.

From January 2023, a 45 per cent tax will be levied on extraordinary returns being realised from non-carbon electricity generators, including solar generators, in the UK. The measure will raise around £14.2 billion over the scorecard and help fund support for households and businesses with their energy bills as well as vital public services.

The levy will only be applied to a measure of extraordinary returns defined as returns from selling electricity for a period at an average price of more than £75/MWh. This is approximately 1.5 times the average price of electricity over the last decade. The Government considers this to be a proportionate approach to recovering a proportion of the extraordinary profits electricity generators are receiving whilst leaving them with a sufficient level of return to incentivise investment required to transition to net zero.

The levy will be limited, through a de minimis threshold, to those groups generating more than 100 Gigawatt-hours per annum of electricity from in scope generation assets in a qualifying period and will only be applied on extraordinary profits in excess of £10m for the group. This means smaller generators will not be within scope of the levy.

From January 2023, a 45 per cent tax will be levied on extraordinary returns being realised from non-carbon electricity generators, including solar generators, in the UK. The measure will raise around £14.2 billion over the scorecard and help fund support for households and businesses with their energy bills as well as vital public services.

The levy will only be applied to a measure of extraordinary returns defined as returns from selling electricity for a period at an average price of more than £75/MWh. This is approximately 1.5 times the average price of electricity over the last decade. The Government considers this to be a proportionate approach to recovering a proportion of the extraordinary profits electricity generators are receiving whilst leaving them with a sufficient level of return to incentivise investment required to transition to net zero.

The levy will be limited, through a de minimis threshold, to those groups generating more than 100 Gigawatt-hours per annum of electricity from in scope generation assets in a qualifying period and will only be applied on extraordinary profits in excess of £10m for the group. This means smaller generators will not be within scope of the levy.

The Energy Profits Levy (EPL) was introduced in May in response to sharp increases in oil and gas prices over the past year. At the Autumn Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced that the rate of the levy would rise by ten percentage points to 35 per cent, effective from 1 January 2023. The levy has also been extended until 31 March 2028.

The Electricity Generator Levy (EGL) will be introduced from 1 January 2023 as a new, temporary 45 per cent tax levied on extraordinary returns being realised from certain electricity generators in the UK. The EGL is charged on a different base to the EPL. The EPL is applied to total profits, whereas the EGL will only apply on the excess portion of returns above the £75/MWh benchmark price – well above historic levels.

Renewable generators will be able to deduct their investment costs from their taxable profits for the purposes of Corporation Tax.

New renewable generation will continue to be eligible for the government’s generous Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme. Since 2014, the CfD scheme has enabled around 26GW of new low-carbon capacity, with generators receiving almost £6 billion net in price support to date. Electricity generators will also continue to be able to claim relief for their investments from the Corporation Tax they pay.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecast at Autumn Statement 2022 estimates revenues from EPL are expected to be £41.6 billion between 2022-23 and 2027-28. This is inclusive of the impact of the investment allowance, consistent with previous revenue projections for the levy. The OBR expect the Electricity Generator Levy to raise £14.22 billion over the same period.

From January 2023, a 45 per cent tax will be levied on extraordinary returns being realised from non-gas electricity generators in the UK. The measure will raise around £14.2 billion over the scorecard and help fund support for households and businesses with their energy bills as well as vital public services.

While gas generators are experiencing increased revenue from the substantial increase in the market prices of electricity, they are also impacted by the substantial increase in the price of gas. The inclusion of gas generators could have unintended impacts on electricity pricing with implications for the market as a whole or on certain business models. The approach we have taken is consistent with gas generation being excluded from similar tax and regulatory interventions overseas.

The Energy Profits Levy (EPL) was introduced in May in response to sharp increases in oil and gas prices over the past year. At the Autumn Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced that the rate of the levy would rise by ten percentage points to 35 per cent, effective from 1 January 2023. The levy has also been extended until 31 March 2028.

The Electricity Generator Levy (EGL) will be introduced from 1 January 2023 as a new, temporary 45 per cent tax levied on extraordinary returns being realised from certain electricity generators in the UK. The EGL is charged on a different base to the EPL. The EPL is applied to total profits, whereas the EGL will only apply on the excess portion of returns above the £75/MWh benchmark price – well above historic levels.

Renewable generators will be able to deduct their investment costs from their taxable profits for the purposes of Corporation Tax.

New renewable generation will continue to be eligible for the government’s generous Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme. Since 2014, the CfD scheme has enabled around 26GW of new low-carbon capacity, with generators receiving almost £6 billion net in price support to date. Electricity generators will also continue to be able to claim relief for their investments from the Corporation Tax they pay.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecast at Autumn Statement 2022 estimates revenues from EPL are expected to be £41.6 billion between 2022-23 and 2027-28. This is inclusive of the impact of the investment allowance, consistent with previous revenue projections for the levy. The OBR expect the Electricity Generator Levy to raise £14.22 billion over the same period.

The Government is committed to maximising value for money for taxpayers and has the option to recover costs through the shortfall recovery mechanism which would see a levy charged on industry. The decision of how this process will be carried out lies with the Secretary of State.

The Special Administrators of Bulb are required by law to keep costs as low as possible and we continue to engage closely with them to ensure maximum value for money for taxpayers.

A growing proportion of UK electricity comes from renewables, which reduces exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets. Without the renewables the Government is putting on the grid today, and the green levies that support them, energy bills would be higher than they are now.

The Autumn Budget 2017 committed to further Contracts for Difference (CfD). This existing scheme has shared the risks of investing in new technologies to boost UK renewables and bring in billions of pounds of private investment. The Government will ensure the UK remains a world leader through annual CfD auctions, reducing costs through competition.

In recent years, environmental and social schemes, funded by levies on consumer bills, have been instrumental in driving the decarbonisation of the energy system. As set out in the Heat & Buildings and Net Zero Strategies, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy intend to publish a Fairness and Affordability Call for Evidence this year to set out the options for energy levies and obligations. This will consider options to support green choices, expand carbon pricing and remove costs from electricity bills, while seeking to limit the impacts on bills overall, especially for vulnerable consumers.

What we have seen since the apprenticeship levy was introduced is a change in the number of people doing apprenticeships, but we have also seen an increase in the quality of the apprenticeships that are being undertaken. The Government are now looking at how the levy is operating to ensure that we can do what I want to do, which is ensure that every young person has the opportunity to pursue the course, be it of education or training, that is right for them and that is going to give them the best start in life.