UEA expert says insulating homes key to supressing future energy spike
The ECC says Britain is still heavily reliant on gas for home heating and power, and urgently needs more home-produced renewable energy
An economics expert from a university in Norfolk is telling us the Government needs to insulate homes across the country - to help protect families from another energy price spike.
It follows warnings that the UK is "critically vulnerable" to another energy crisis that would see these bills spike, again - according to the Energy Crisis Commission.
"Those on the lowest income will be hit the hardest"
Professor Corrado Di Maria is from the University of East Anglia. He told us why we're still in a weak spot: "Over 3/4 of the energy we use is fossil fuels based.
"We need to change this because regardless of where gas and oil is produced, it will be sold on the international market for the price set on there."
He says another spike would hit the poorest, hardest: "If the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East gets worse and there are more price-shocks, those on the lowest income will be hit the hardest.
"Their homes are likely to be less energy efficient meaning they'll have to pay for more energy than they need, while it's getting more expensive."
The wider findings:
The commission was launched earlier this year to review the impacts of the recent energy crisis on UK households and businesses after Russia's war in Ukraine caused prices to skyrocket.
It found that Britain was "dangerously underprepared" for an energy crisis of this type and was one of the worst-hit countries in Europe, ranking second most dependent country on gas and fifth most dependent on gas for electricity against EU nations.
Household billpayers in Britain "paid the price" for the slow pace of improving housing, delays to new-build efficiency standards and missed opportunities to build more renewables, the commission said.
In a report, the group found that on the supply side, Britain is still heavily reliant on gas for home heating and power, and urgently needs more home-produced renewable energy and storage capacity.
The UK has also failed to reduce energy demand, especially from forms of energy such as gas that show volatility when it comes to global shocks.
On the demand side, the country also has badly insulated housing compared with many other countries, the paper said.
The report also found that poorly targeted support schemes meant the poorest households suffered - ultimately pushing up the overall cost of the crisis for the UK and driving up national debt.
The impact has been "catastrophic" for some vulnerable households, it said, finding nine in 10 cut back their energy use and 7.5 million have hit fuel poverty.
For vulnerable firms, almost one in 10 (8%) reported ceasing operations for some or all of their business and one in five (22%) said that they would draw on cash reserves in response to higher energy costs, the paper added.
"Still much more we need to do"
Former MP David Laws, who chaired the commission, said: "Our view is that the new Government is now moving in the right direction and it will need to sustain this and do so at scale and pace in order to address the challenges we've had on demand."
The group recommended ministers provide targeted and scaled-up support for businesses and energy-intensive industries to decarbonise, and pursue electricity market reform urgently.
To ensure the better handling of a future crisis, the report called on ministers to improve the targeting of support for vulnerable households and businesses who could be hit worst.
The Government should also review regulations to protect consumers from supplier failure and develop an overarching plan to reduce the risk of future crises, including regular stress-testing of the UK's reliance to price shocks and disruption, it said.
"Future oil and gas shocks seem inevitable, but the UK remains poorly prepared to absorb these," Mr Laws said.
"Experience in other countries shows that global energy price shocks need not have catastrophic impacts on economies and societies if we take the types of actions detailed in this report."
What's the Government said on this?
The Government says Great British Energy, a newly created publicly-owned company, will create new jobs and help cut these bills for good.
Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
"Our country faces huge challenges. More than 2 years on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, families and businesses continue to pay the price for Britain’s energy insecurity. Bills remain hundreds of pounds higher than before the energy crisis began and are expected to rise again soon. At the same time, we are confronted by the climate crisis all around us, not a future threat but a present reality, and there is an unmet demand for good jobs and economic opportunities all across Britain.
In 2024, the answers to all these challenges point in the same direction: investing in clean energy at speed and scale. In an unstable world, the only way to guarantee our energy security and protect billpayers permanently is to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels and towards home-grown clean energy.
That is why making Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030 is one of the Prime Minister’s 5 missions with the biggest investment in home-grown clean energy in British history.
The new government is taking immediate action on our mission. We lifted the ban on onshore wind within our first 72 hours in government and have set up a new 2030 Mission Control at the heart of government.
Now, we are already delivering on one of the government’s first steps for change by setting up Great British Energy, a publicly-owned company headquartered in Scotland to invest in clean, home-grown energy. Today, we are also introducing the Great British Energy Bill to Parliament.
Great British Energy stems from a simple idea: that the British people should have a right to own and benefit from our natural resources. That these resources belong to all of us and should be harnessed for the common good.
We already have public ownership of energy in this country, by foreign governments. The policy of this government is that it is time for the British people to also own things again and build things again.
Other countries have also grasped the opportunities of investing in clean energy, but Britain is being left behind. We have tremendous advantages: from our long coastlines and shallow waters to our skilled energy workforce, with deep experience in offshore industries and cutting-edge technologies. The only thing that’s missing is a long-term plan to harness these significant assets.
Great British Energy is how we help change this. A new national champion allowing us to reap the benefits of Britain’s abundant natural resources, with clean power projects in communities across our country, to create the next generation of good jobs, reindustrialising Britain.
Backed by a capitalisation of £8.3 billion of new money over this Parliament, Great British Energy will work closely with industry, local authorities, communities and other public sector organisations to help accelerate Britain’s pathway to energy independence. That means installing thousands of clean power projects across the country, crowding in investment for next-generation technologies, and providing vital support to accelerate large-scale projects.
Great British Energy will own, manage and operate clean power projects. It will be a company that will generate energy in its own right, working in partnership with the private sector for the good of the country.
Great British Energy will create thousands of good jobs, with good wages, across the country. We will seize the opportunities of the clean energy transition and ensure the British people capture those benefits. In doing so, we will show how 21st century modern public ownership can help deliver a dynamic state working in partnership with industry, workers, and unions.
Great British Energy is part of our bold, long-term strategy to harness our nation’s clean energy potential, and ensure that never again are we at the mercy of volatile fossil fuel markets. It will be a new national venture that our country can take pride in".