First Delegated Legislation Committee

6 juillet 2026

Sommaire mis à jour le 6 juil. 2026

The Chair opens proceedings and the Minister formally moves the motion, outlining the role of the capacity market in ensuring security of electricity supply and its technology‑neutral design. The Minister details the specific amendments in the 2026 regulations, including CfD interaction, increased termination fees and credit cover, alignment with half‑hourly settlement reforms, powers to extend pre‑qualification after IT outages, removal of obsolete provisions, consultation outcomes, and associated rule changes.

Committee lun. 6 juil. 2026 House of Commons

00:00 - 00:13

Intervenant 2

Order. Draft Electricity Capacity (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026. I call the Minister to move the motion.

00:13 - 02:48

Intervenant 4

Thank you very much, Ms Harris, it's a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon. And I beg to move that the Committee considers the draft Electricity Capacity (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026, which was laid before the House on the 14th of May 2026. This instrument seeks to make technical improvements and changes to the capacity market, which is the government's main tool for ensuring security of electricity supply in Great Britain. Before outlining the specific provisions in the instrument, if I just provide some brief context. The capacity market was introduced in 2014 and is designed to maintain the security of electricity supply by ensuring that sufficient capacity is available to meet future demand predictions.

Through auctions which are held annually, one year and four years ahead of delivery, the capacity needed to meet future peak demand under a range of scenarios is secured based on advice from the National Energy System Operator, NESO. Participants secure agreements through these auctions, requiring them to make capacity available at times of system stress. It's a technology-neutral scheme that pays providers for making capacity available when it's needed, covering generation, storage, consumer-led flexibility, and interconnection. Since its introduction, the capacity market has contributed to investment in around 20 gigawatts of new capacity needed to replace older and less efficient plants as we transition towards the clean power 2030 target. To ensure the capacity market continues to function effectively, we regularly amend the implementing legislation based on what is required to best ensure continued security of supply.

If I turn to the detail of this particular instrument, this amends 11 regulations and introduces one new regulation in the Electricity Capacity Regulations 2014, amends two regulations in the Electricity Capacity (Supplier Payment) Regulations 2014, and revokes one chapter of the Electricity Capacity (No. 1) Regulations 2019. First, it will ensure that assets which are awarded a contract for difference following a direction from the Secretary of State will be allowed to participate in the capacity market until the start of the asset's CfD support. This will better align the capacity market with the clean power ambition and ensure a smooth transition for payments under the capacity market to a CfD. Second, the draft instrument will strengthen delivery assurance by increasing termination fees and credit cover to restore their value broadly in line with 2016 levels in real terms. And thirdly, it makes several amendments and a revocation to ensure the legislation delivers on the policy intent.

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