Energy policy is devolved in Northern Ireland and is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive Department for the Economy.<\/p>
<\/p>
The Contracts for Difference scheme, which applies UK-wide, was not implemented in Northern Ireland. The reasons were set out by the Northern Ireland Executive Minister for the Economy in response to a written question (AQW 3094/17-22) tabled on 3 March 2020 and answered on 19 March 2020. The answer states that the Northern Ireland Executive considered that joining the scheme, which was introduced in Great Britain in 2014, would have placed a guaranteed additional cost burden on Northern Ireland consumers, on top of existing support that consumers already paid for the Renewables Obligations.<\/p>
<\/p>
When the primary legislation for Contracts for Difference was put in place at the outset, provisions were put in place for Northern Ireland to join at a later date if conditions were right.<\/p>
<\/p>
In developing its Energy Strategy, The Path to Net Zero Energy, <\/em>the Department for the Economy carried out a consultation from December 2019 to March 2020. This consultation asked whether respondents agreed that the Department for the Economy should explore with the UK Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy the possibility of extending the Contracts for Difference scheme to Northern Ireland. 92% of respondents answered \u2018yes\u2019 to this question and the Northern Ireland Executive\u2019s Energy Strategy, The Path to Net Zero Energy, <\/em>published in December 2021, confirmed that the Northern Ireland Executive is exploring whether the Contracts for Difference scheme should be extended to Northern Ireland.<\/p> <\/p> It is vital that the Northern Ireland Executive is restored, so that locally elected representatives are in place to continue important policy development relating to energy and net zero on behalf of the people of Northern Ireland.<\/p>
<\/p>"}
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