To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2023 to Question 182830 and in the context of hydrogen being blended into the grid, whether his Department has made an assessment of the way energy billing mechanisms would be updated to (a) reflect varying calorific values of blended gas and (b) prevent additional costs from being passed onto consumers owing to the increased volume of gas being burned.
Answered on
18 May 2023
UK gas bills are calculated in kWh and are determined by the volumes of gas served and the Flow Weighted Average Calorific Value (FWACV) of gas served. As such, although blending hydrogen into the grid would increase the volumes of gas burned, the resulting consumer bills should be unchanged due to the lower calorific value of blended gas. The Government is working closely with gas networks to assess potential interactions between hydrogen blends and gas billing. Value for money will be a key factor in determining whether and/or how to enable the wider roll-out of blending into the gas network.