Summary
The Government are seeking views on proposed changes to the
Capacity Market (CM) to maintain the security of our electricity
supply and to support the conversion of unabated gas plants to
low carbon technology.
This call for evidence closes at
11:59pm on 10 December 2024
Call for evidence description
The security of our electricity supply is key to successful
delivery of the Clean Energy Superpower Mission and one of its
key pillars - clean power by 2030.
Achieving Clean Power by 2030 means we will rely even more on
renewable power. The variable nature of renewables makes it
critical that we have sufficient flexible capacity that can be
ramped up quickly when renewable generation is low, such as on
dark, still days.
The government is already investing in low carbon flexible
technologies to ensure we have the energy flexibility our country
needs. Whilst these technologies scale up, we will rely on
gas as the main mature, reliable technology capable of providing
the flexibility we need during the transition period. Our aim is
to move gas into a backup role, primarily to ensure security of
supply.
We are therefore seeking views on a series of changes to the
CM that aim to retain
sufficient flexible capacity on the system and strengthen
security of supply, while also supporting the decarbonisation of
unabated gas. In particular, this evidence will help the
Government to:
-
inform the development of additional decarbonisation pathways
that would allow unabated gas plants to exit multi-year
CM agreements to
decarbonise. We are simultaneously consulting on an initial
decarbonisation pathway which will allow unabated gas plants
to exit and convert to power carbon capture, usage and
storage (CCUS)
-
inform the development of a longer-term view of future
capacity requirements and supply
Capacity Market: consultation
We are simultaneously running a CM consultation on proposals to
maintain security of supply and enable flexible capacity to
decarbonise. This seeks views on proposed changes to the
CM that are also intended to
support investment in, and decarbonisation of, flexible capacity.
We encourage respondents to review both the consultation and the
call for evidence in tandem, and respond to both using the online
response form.
Responding to the call for evidence
We strongly encourage respondents to respond online wherever
possible.
If you do choose to respond via email or in writing, then to
ensure your views are most effectively used in policy development
please respond directly to the individual questions posed,
supported by evidence where possible. When responding, please
state whether you are responding as an individual or representing
the views of an organisation.
The call for evidence is open to anyone to respond, but will be
of particular interest to:
- energy industry
- consumer groups
- academia
- think tanks
- other organisations who have an interest in security of
supply and decarbonisation
Read our consultation privacy
notice.
Documents
Proposals to maintain security
of supply and enable flexible capacity to decarbonise: call for
evidence
