Speeches by Shanks.

“I think that the last time I was at the Committee, you put a definition to me that would have solved another one of my policy dilemmas, so it is very helpful.”

“That is absolutely right, and it is why the strategic spatial energy plan and the centralised strategic network plan are really important. They are projecting into the future, beyond the current period, what the future energy system will look like, based on projections of future demand, which we know will increase sign…”

“I entirely understand the argument, and we are not against looking at all sorts of things like that. Particularly, we are genuinely not against the principle of rebalancing. We are looking at it, but it is a question of how it is delivered in the fairest way possible. Of course, some of the other actions that we are ta…”

“The warm home discount is not targeted specifically at gas customers, so again—”

“I come back to the point I made a moment ago on your general question, which is we cannot build the electricity system we need for the future without building the grids, so the investment in the grid is not optional. Frankly, even if there was a different Government taking a different path, you would still have to buil…”

“I am grateful for that summary from the Netherlands. We have looked at rebalancing. Clearly, I understand the argument. We want to see much more electrification, and therefore the cost of electricity has to decline. The trade-off that we have been wrestling with— and that we continue to wrestle with, because fundamenta…”

“Fundamentally, that is correct. Your question was particularly around a relationship with the EU. We are obviously in negotiations at the moment. Alignment with the EU, so that we can have electricity trading, is really important. We will soon become a net exporter of electricity, and that is a really important part of…”

“We are going to build the transmission projects that are critical for the country. If I were to go back 15 years and plan where some of the renewables projects were built, I would not place them where they are in many cases, and we would have therefore built less grid. We now have to connect the projects that are there…”

“That is the point I was making earlier. The main threat to businesses in the UK is the UK’s dependency on fossil fuels. Even if we were to remove carbon pricing, we would simply be paying money into the EU through the CBAM. I don’t understand why that is preferential to anybody—it has not been explained to me. I would …”

“I think, in this climate, that the lesson we should take is that fossil fuels have been the cause of why consumers are paying more across the country. Anyone who can say right now with a straight face that doubling down on gas is the answer to our future energy security and to the bills crisis people are facing needs t…”

“I have said we are looking at a whole range of policies. I am not going to be drawn on one particular thing that, I am sure, will be quoted in a particular way after this meeting. What I am saying is that we are looking at a whole range of options to reduce bills. But the principle that carbon has a cost and that it is…”

“I said earlier that we are looking at absolutely everything, but there are some fundamentals that there simply is no way to go around. We are not looking at completely changing the Government’s policy on recognising the price of carbon.”

“You are a very good civil servant. [Laughter.]”

“No, I don’t, because, fundamentally, the gas would still be more expensive even without that. The comparison I have seen, which I think is what you are referring to, assumes a load factor of gas of above 90%, which we have never run in this country. That is not how we run gas in this country. Even though the equivalent…”

“As I have just set out, we see it as an important way to lead the decarbonisation that we need to see as a country. It is about recognising that if you take gas generation and put it alongside renewables, there is an additional cost to society from that gas generation that is not otherwise recognised. That was a fairly…”

“I don’t have the exact number in front of me at the moment, but they sound around the right—I mean, they are far too high, is the bottom line.”

“Well, it is. I would also say that there is not some magic button we can push that electrifies the country without building the things that get electricity to homes and businesses. Look, we built the grid in the ’50s and ’60s. It was an extraordinary project then to electrify the country. We have not done any big scale…”

“I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Contracts for Difference (Sustainable Industry Rewards and Contract Budget Notice Amendments) Regulations 2026. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine, and it is wonderful to see so many Scots reunited for this debate. The draft regulations …”

“It is worth reminding ourselves why the carbon price support exists in the first place. It was introduced to incentivise the building of low-carbon infrastructure. It recognises the fact that there is a cost to carbon-intensive infrastructure; it might not be borne immediately, but it is borne in due course. Therefore,…”

“We decided not to pursue zonal pricing because to split the country up into individual zones would, in the assessment that we made, lead to a significant period of uncertainty and potentially to increased costs of building projects, wherever they might be in the UK. Any benefit that may have come from zonal pricing in …”