Tag: Michael Shanks

  • Michael Shanks – 2026 Statement on Blackout Risk

    Michael Shanks – 2026 Statement on Blackout Risk

    The statement made by Michael Shanks, the Minister for Energy, in the House of Commons on 15 July 2026.

    On 7 July, the shadow Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho), wrote to the Government alleging practices of poor information handling in NESO and interference in operational decision-making in the control room. The Government take this issue incredibly seriously. Since the allegations came to light, we have been engaging with NESO and Ofgem to establish the facts. Both my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have spoken to the chief executive of NESO.

    NESO has now appointed an external legal firm to conduct a full investigation into the claims, and a report is to be delivered to the board’s head of risk and controls and to Ofgem in the coming weeks. The legal firm will interview members of the control room, without any other NESO employees present. NESO has already responded publicly that all operational decisions are taken solely by authorised operational control room personnel, and that NESO does not instruct employees to avoid retaining records. We will work closely with Ofgem to monitor both the progress and the outcome of the investigation. However, it would be wrong to pre-empt that outcome, and the investigation must be allowed to run its course.

    I want to make it clear that during this period of unprecedented extreme heat, the Great British grid remains stable. No customers were impacted by tight electricity margins, and NESO had a number of tools available to ensure our energy security. Great Britain has one of the most resilient energy systems in the world, and the Government work closely with NESO and the wider sector to ensure that this resilience is constantly maintained. Market notices, such as those issued by NESO during the heatwaves, are standard operational tools that can be used to support energy security, and these were used successfully to maintain grid stability. However, it is important to acknowledge that extreme heat events, such as those experienced this summer, are likely to occur more frequently as our climate continues to change.

    My Department will continue to work with NESO and Ofgem to identify any lessons from these events, and to work to ensure that our electricity system remains resilient. Ofgem, as the independent regulator, is also working with NESO to initiate a formal review of events during the June heatwave. I welcome this important transparency, and look forward to working with NESO and Ofgem on taking forward the lessons learned.

  • Michael Shanks – 2026 Comments on Nuclear Power and Scotland

    Michael Shanks – 2026 Comments on Nuclear Power and Scotland

    The comments made by Michael Shanks, the Energy Minister, on 30 June 2026.

    For decades thousands of Scots have worked in the nuclear sector and provided the country with low-carbon, reliable power.

    This new report shows there is potential for new nuclear in Scotland, which could boost the country’s energy security and deliver new jobs.

    We are delivering a golden age of nuclear in England and Wales from Sizewell C to small modular reactors. Sadly Scotland is missing out on the enormous economic and energy security potential.

  • Michael Shanks – 2026 Statement on Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery

    Michael Shanks – 2026 Statement on Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery

    The statement made by Michael Shanks, the Minister for Energy, in the House of Commons on 6 January 2026.

    On 30 June 2025, I made an oral statement regarding the deeply disappointing news that Prax Lindsey oil refinery had entered insolvency, and I made a written ministerial statement on 1 July 2025. I also made a written ministerial statement on 22 July 2025 providing further information on the insolvency process led by the official receiver. Today, I am updating the House on the sale of the site and the assets.

    The insolvency process at PLOR is led by the court-appointed official receiver, who must act in accordance with his statutory duties and independently of Government.

    After a thorough process to identify a buyer for the site, the official receiver has determined Phillips 66 Ltd is the most credible bidder that can provide a viable future for this site. The sale is expected to complete in the first half of 2026.

    Phillips 66 is an experienced and credible operator, and this sale allows it to quickly expand operations at its neighbouring Humber refinery, with all remaining 250 staff guaranteed employment until the end of March 2026.

    Phillips 66 plans to integrate key assets into its Humber refinery operations. This will expand Phillips 66’s ability to supply fuel to UK customers from the Humber refinery, boosting domestic energy security, securing jobs including hundreds of new construction jobs over the next five years, and driving future growth opportunities for renewable and traditional fuels.

    This agreement marks the next step in securing an industrial future for the site and the workers, who were badly let down by their former owners.

    The former owners left the company in a poor state and gave the Government very little time to act. That is why the Energy Secretary immediately demanded the Insolvency Service launch an investigation into their conduct and the circumstances surrounding insolvency. That investigation is ongoing.

  • Michael Shanks – 2025 Statement on Energy Grid Resilience

    Michael Shanks – 2025 Statement on Energy Grid Resilience

    The statement made by Michael Shanks, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, in the House of Commons on 30 April 2025.

    With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on the resilience of the UK’s energy grid in the context of the widespread power outages experienced across the Iberian peninsula over the past two days. My thoughts are with all those affected by the widespread disruption across that peninsula on Monday. I am glad to hear that power has now been fully restored across the region.

    I want to reassure the House that Great Britain has a highly resilient energy network, and that the incident in Iberia has not impacted Great Britain. The Secretary of State has been in regular contact with the National Energy System Operator over the past two days, and it has provided reassurance that there is no increase in risk to our energy supplies or system stability from this incident.

    My Department was informed on Monday 28 April by NESO that a power outage had occurred across the Iberian peninsula, affecting mainland Spain, Portugal, Andorra and areas of France. While all power was restored to the impacted areas yesterday, Tuesday 29 April, the disruption had cascading impacts on other sectors across the vast majority of Spain and Portugal. The cause of the outage is yet to be confirmed; it is likely to take some time for the Spanish network operator to carry out a thorough investigation to determine the exact cause of the failure. Various independent reviews have been commissioned by Spain, Portugal and the European Commission to understand the cause.

    Although GB is not directly connected to Spain and Portugal’s grid, NESO is in close contact with European counterparts, and is offering support where needed. The Government are closely monitoring the situation and are in contact with the Spanish and Portuguese authorities to ensure the safety and wellbeing of any British nationals in the affected regions.

    I turn to our grid’s resilience, and our preparedness in the context of recent events on the Iberian peninsula. An event similar in impact in Great Britain would be equivalent to a national power outage—a total loss of power across the whole of GB—which is listed on the national risk register as a high-impact but low-likelihood event. In its 75-year history, Great Britain’s national electricity transmission system has never experienced a complete shutdown, or anything on the scale of what has happened in Spain over the past few days.

    Our electricity system is highly resilient. The National Energy System Operator continuously monitors the condition of the electricity system to ensure there are sufficient inertia and reserves in the system to manage large losses and prevent large-scale power outages. NESO has also introduced innovative new approaches to managing system stability, as well as advanced safety systems to help to prevent such events from happening in GB. The system is built, designed and operated to cope with the loss of key circuits or systems without causing customer impacts. There are multiple redundant alternative routes through which power can flow should a fault occur, minimising the risk of a single fault cascading across the entire system to cause a total or partial electricity system shutdown.

    However, as a responsible Government, we prepare for all eventualities, no matter how unlikely. I would like to reassure the House that the Government work closely with industry to continually improve and maintain the resilience of energy infrastructure, networks and assets to reduce vulnerabilities. This work includes having robust emergency plans, summarised in the national emergency plan for downstream gas and electricity, and regularly exercising emergency plans with the energy industry and Ofgem. That includes an exercise carried out by the previous Government; we have been taking forward the recommendations from that exercise. This work is ongoing across Government to ensure we are as resilient as possible as a nation in all eventualities.

    We have also empowered the independent National Energy System Operator to carry out resilience functions across the electricity and gas systems, and will continue to work with industry and regulators to improve and maintain the resilience of old, new and future energy infrastructure. Switching fossil-fuelled generation for home-grown clean energy from renewables, nuclear and other clean technologies is the route to long-term energy security. I will speak more broadly about the UK’s energy resilience in a debate in Westminster Hall on Tuesday.

    To conclude, Great Britain has a resilient energy network, and we will ensure that that continues to be the case. I commend this statement to the House.