Ministers defended raising OPRED’s hourly charges from July so industry, not taxpayers, covers the full cost of environmental regulation, while peers pressed for clearer evidence on the 22% specialist-rate rise, its timing and its impact on smaller North Sea operators.

Peers examined rules that would let Contracts for Difference be used to support older nuclear stations as they near closure, with questions over consumer costs, value for money and parliamentary oversight; the Minister said the power was only an option and any future deal would face detailed cost checks.