Clause 93 - Competitive tenders for offshore transmission licences
Energy Bill [Lords]
4:00 pm
Mrs Anne McIntosh (Shadow Minister, Environment & Transport; Vale of York, Conservative)
I am grateful to my hon. Friend.
According to the explanatory notes, there are currently no offshore transmission licences and I believe that there is only one offshore installation. These are completely new waters. Why does the Bill make no direct reference to negotiations or discussions with the Department for Transport or with navigational, maritime and shipping interests? Clearly the whole process of establishing an offshore transmission licence will be much more complicated than applying for an onshore transmission licence. There are so many other interests that should be consulted and they are not referred to in the Bill.
This appears to be another instance in which the Government are mindful of the interests of the developers of the offshore installation without paying even lip service to the other users. There might be a good reason why the Government have not seen fit to consult the parties referred to in the amendment, and we stand to be corrected here. However, we felt that it was appropriate to include in clause 93 a requirement that, at the earliest possible stage when the licences are submitted to competitive tender, all the users of a particular zone are consulted and their interests addressed.