YOU may think the UK energy situation is quite serious. Very serious. But is there hope?
The Iran war began on February 28 and the very next day we were warned by a Daily Mirror reporter that ‘Iran sits on the edge of the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane . . . Any threat to traffic there typically spooks markets and drives up crude prices.’ It took another two weeks or more for Trump to realise this.
By March 4 the CEO of green power supplier Good Energy was advising householders to reduce demand, improve their insulation and upgrade inefficient devices. How useful is that? Notice he was expecting us to act, rather than the Government.
Five days later the Guardian offered a warning and a solution, but the solution itself was a warning. ‘Prolonged disruption to global gas supplies could see energy bills in the UK rise by £900 to £2,500 a year . . . Such uncertainty strengthens the case for going big on clean energy . . . Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, has grasped this reality.’ Ed Miliband’s ‘reality’ assumes an ever-blowing wind and glorious sunshine on winter evenings.
A government press release has outlined a ‘package of measures to go further and faster in the pursuit of national energy security’. One way to boost the UK’s energy security is ‘low-cost solar panels that families can buy at supermarkets and put on their balconies or outdoor space’. Another is the reassurance that the ‘landmark’ Warm Homes Plan is being speeded up. Not much further and certainly not faster.
Wednesday March 18 brought curious optimism in the Daily Telegraph: ‘Britain should max out on both renewables and North Sea oil and gas . . . We are well on our way to an autonomous electricity system that is insulated from any Gulf crisis.’ That insulation doesn’t seem to be working very well.
On March 19 the Prime Minister was being advised to hold emergency meetings to counter the energy bill disaster threat. The following day we had reassurance: ‘Great Britain has one of the most reliable energy systems in the world.’ So that’s all right then.
‘Miliband’s North Sea crackdown seems more senseless than ever,’ said one newspaper on Sunday March 22, as it was now startlingly evident that the war was going to end neither quickly nor satisfactorily.
At the time of writing (March 26) there might be a peace plan or there might not. With Trump, nothing is certain, nothing can be relied on.
This country and its local seas have vast reserves of oil, gas and coal. We are shutting down our North Sea gas and oil fields, and we don’t mine coal any more. Yet we buy Norwegian gas (from the North Sea), oil from America, and nearly all our household items come from China, where they are mostly manufactured with electricity generated by coal-fired power stations.
Never mind all that. We have so many departments looking after us that surely they will pull us through this temporary difficulty. Surely they will be aware of our own resources? First is the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). That is responsible for ‘UK energy security, protecting billpayers, supporting economic growth for the UK, protecting jobs, and reducing the UK’s emissions’.
It seems it is not to be trusted completely, as the Climate Change Committee has been established ‘to advise the UK Government on emissions targets . . . and adapting to the impacts of climate change’. It comes to scarcely believable conclusions like ‘achieving Net Zero by 2050 is more cost-effective for the UK than continued reliance on volatile fossil fuels’.
Then there is Great British Energy, ‘an operationally independent company wholly owned by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero [Ed Miliband]’. It has a vision ‘to become an enduring institution that delivers the benefits of a cleaner, more secure energy system to the UK public’. It will achieve ‘wider public benefit through a better, more affordable energy system and good jobs’. I’m sure we’re all looking forward to that ‘public benefit’. I wonder when it will happen.
Just think: all these people working for us. But there’s more. Miliband has created a Mission Control, ‘a top team of energy experts will break down barriers and accelerate progress on energy projects . . . a one-stop shop, bringing together a top team of industry experts and officials to troubleshoot, negotiate and clear the way for energy projects’.
Has that phrase linking ‘cooks’ and ‘broth’ occurred to you yet? The Government has also appointed ‘leading industry and academic experts to the Clean Power 2030 Advisory Commission to help accelerate UK’s mission to decarbonise the electricity grid . . . it will support . . . Mission Control, in developing a Clean Power 2030 system, providing expertise to deliver the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan’.
And finally there’s the National Energy System Operator, which ‘will support the UK’s energy security, help to keep bills down in the long term, and accelerate the Government’s clean power mission’.
Here’s the list:
Department of Energy and Net Zero
Climate Change Committee
Great British Energy
Clean Power 2030 Advisory Commission
Mission Control
National Energy System Operator
All should be working with one purpose: to provide this country with electricity and gas that is constant, cheap and reliable, no matter what is troubling the rest of the world.
You’d think they could manage that between them, wouldn’t you?
