Energy
This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on energy. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs.
Standard Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 04.03.2013 | Oil Prices |
| Oil prices peaked at almost $150 Dollars a barrel in July 2008 and fell sharply in the second half of 2008 as the global financial crisis hit. Prices have increased since then, despite a fairly weak global economy. Political unrest across the Middle East and the revolt in Libya contributed to further price rises in early 2011. Subsequent prices have been volatile; falling amid concerns about the world economy and going up as tension between Iran and the West increases. Some commentators have said that quantitative easing has contributed to the underlying price increases. Sustained high prices in 2011 meant the annual average price was above that seen in 2008 and the highest since 1864. The latest spot price is around $110 per barrel. This is more than $40 below the peak, but the weaker pound has meant that recent Sterling prices have frequently been above their 2008 peak. The International Energy Agency's business as usual projections put the price of oil at almost $250 per barrel in 2035. | |
| 04.03.2013 | Energy imports and exports |
| After spending most of the previous 25 years as a net exporter of energy the UK became a net importer in 2004. The gap between imports and exports has increased since 2004 and this looks set to continue to increase in the future. This, alongside higher fuel prices and increased concern over the security of energy supply has increased the attention on energy imports and exports. | |
| 22.02.2013 | Petrol and diesel prices |
| Road fuel prices have increased steadily since their recent lows in early 2009. Petrol prices reached a record monthly high in May 2010, set new records in December 2010 and in each of the following five months and broke these again in March and April 2012. Diesel prices exceeded their summer 2008 highs in January 2011 and also set new highs in each of the next four months. New records were set in February, March and April 2012. Prices fell by 10 11 pence per litre over summer, approached the earlier highs in early autumn 2012 but fell back somewhat in winter. | |
| 08.02.2013 | Carbon Price Floor |
| This note summarises the Governmnent plans to introduce a carbon price floor by April 2013 | |
| 16.01.2013 | Domestic gas and electricity prices: Social Indicators page |
| Depiction of trends in the retail prices of gas and electricity since privatisation. |
Research Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 13.12.2012 | Energy Bill |
| The Energy Bill [Bill 100 of 2012-13] seeks to implement 'electricity market reform' and through this achieve 'secure, clean and affordable' electricity supplies. The Bill was introduced to the Commons on 29 November 2012 and will have its Second Reading debate on 19 December 2012. A draft Bill was subject to pre-legislative scrutiny by the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee. | |
| 13.12.2012 | Growth and Infrastructure Bill: Committee Stage Report |
| This is a report on the House of Commons Committee Stage of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill. It complements Research Paper 12/61 prepared for Commons Second Reading | |
| 01.11.2012 | Growth and Infrastructure Bill |
| The Growth and Infrastructure Bill seeks to reduce delays in the planning system and to facilitate new development, through various means. It would allow planning obligations (section 106 agreements) relating to affordable housing to be renegotiated. To promote economic growth, it makes provision for a planned revaluation of business rates in England to be postponed and to create a new employment status of employee owner. Its second reading date has been moved from 30 October to 5 November 2012. | |
| 19.10.2012 | Social Indicators |
| A compendium of the latest social statistics. This edition includes articles on: UK aviation: airports and capacity; Road fuel prices and taxes across the EU; and a look back at London 2012. | |
| 11.01.2012 | Daylight Saving Bill: Committee Stage Report |
| This is a report on the House of Commons Committee Stage of the Daylight Saving Bill. |
Select Committee Reports
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 19.07.2011 | Ofgem Retail Market Review. |
| Energy and Climate Change Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 19.07.2011 | Shale gas. |
| Government response. Energy and Climate Change Select Committee; Department of Energy and Climate Change report [Commons] | |
| 10.05.2011 | Shale gas. |
| Energy and Climate Change Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 18.01.2011 | The revised draft national policy statements on energy. |
| Energy and Climate Change Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 15.03.2010 | The sale of the government's interest in British Energy. |
| Public Accounts Committee report [Commons] |
Early Day Motions
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 10.01.2012 | BIG ENERGY WEEK |
| That this House supports Big Energy Week, which runs from 16 to 21 January 2012 and is designed to help consumers to save money on their energy bills; notes that the recent rises in ... | |
| 14.12.2011 | FISCAL INCENTIVES FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY |
| That this House welcomes the recommendation by the Environmental Audit Committee in its July 2011 report Budget 2011 and Environmental Taxes that `the Government should consider providing ... | |
| 01.12.2011 | GREEN DEAL AND VAT |
| That this House recognises the overall costs of the Green Deal to consumers including product costs, interest rates and value added tax (VAT) will have an impact on future Green Deal ... | |
| 14.11.2011 | RAISE THE RATE CAMPAIGN ON DEBT BLOCKING OF PRE-PAID METER CUSTOMERS |
| <p>That this House calls on Ofgem urgently to raise the level of debt below which pre-paid meter (PPM) customers can switch their energy supplier from the current level of 200 to 350, ... | |
| 18.10.2011 | ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CARBON REDUCTIONS |
| That this House believes it is essential that the UK Parliament passes all necessary legislation to ensure a great reduction in the nation's current carbon emission levels, improve ... |
Lords Library Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 08.01.2010 | Debate on 14th January: The Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change. LLN 2010/001 |
| Debate on 14th January: The Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change. This Library Note aims to provide background reading for the debate to be held on Thursday 14th January: 'To call attention to the outcome of the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change' The UN Conference on Climate Change took place in Copenhagen from 7th-19th December 2009. This Note explains the significance of the Conference in the context of previous international agreements on climate change, sets out the major disagreements that marred the negotiating process in Copenhagen and summarises the key elements contained in the final Copenhagen Accord. It considers analysis of the Accord's achievements and shortcomings, and summarises the reactions of key nations and interest groups. |
POST Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 16.01.2013 | Residential Heat Pumps |
| Heat pumps capture ambient heat from the air or the ground and transfer it inside a building. They provide an efficient alternative to conventional methods of heating, such as boilers. This POSTnote summarises the use of heat pump technology for residential buildings and the constraints to their uptake in the UK. | |
| 06.08.2012 | Energy Use Behaviour Change |
| This POSTnote introduces the factors and interventions that can influence behaviour, and discusses the behavioural aspects of the Green Deal and the smart meters programme. | |
| 25.05.2012 | Assessing Energy Efficiency |
| This POSTnote examines definitions of energy efficiency, looks at methods to measure and verify achieved energy savings and summarises UK and EU polices to promote energy efficiency. | |
| 15.05.2012 | Bioenergy |
| Bioenergy is the use of renewable natural material for power, heat and liquid fuels. Currently, the UK sources approximately 3% of its primary energy from bioenergy feedstocks. This POSTnote considers the opportunities and challenges of producing bioenergy sustainably to meet greenhouse gas reduction targets. | |
| 16.02.2012 | Low Carbon Technologies for Energy-Intensive Industries |
| Energy-intensive industries such as chemicals, paper, ceramics, cement, iron and steel are responsible for 45% of carbon emissions from businesses and the public sector in the UK. This briefing discusses carbon dioxide (CO2) abatement technologies for these industries and policies to support their adoption. | |
| 25.01.2012 | Solar Photovoltaics |
| Solar power has the potential to provide low carbon electricity and to generate employment. This POSTnote discusses the development of solar power in the UK and summarises debate over feed-in tariffs - financial support policies introduced in 2010 to stimulate take-up. |
