UK ranks fifth most dependent on gas for electricity and second in the list of most dependent on gas for heating
Britain’s over-reliance on gas may place the nation at the risk of experiencing a repeat in the rise of energy costs which has been the main reason for the increased cost of living crisis. This was stated by an expert panel of the industry leaders.
A warning has been issued by the Energy Crisis Commission to warn the UK as it is extremely unprepared to welcome yet another crisis. As their reliance on gas for its power and home heating increase while simultaneously increasing the risk of surging energy bills.
The newly formed commission, which includes representatives from business groups Energy UK and the CBI, as well as consumer groups Citizens Advice and National Energy Action, issued its first report warning that too little progress has been made in insulating homes and increasing the installation of heat pumps since the UK economy was rocked by record high petrol prices.
The energy crisis began in late 2021 when rising petrol prices caused 29 household suppliers to fail, and Russia‘s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 pushed rates skyrocketing, forcing the UK government to intervene and subsidize bills.
The head of National Energy Action, a fuel poverty charity, Adam Scorer stated that the uncertainty of the future crisis is real and would heavily impact those who cannot bear the surge in prices.
The British households were catastrophically impacted by the crisis as per a recent report. As the UK ranks fifth most dependent on gas for electricity and second in the list of most dependent on gas for heating, it majorly impacts all the payers. Due to this the energy bill payers were hit harder than in many other European countries.
The audit also criticized the government’s “poorly targeted” support package, which cost the exchequer more than £78 billion, according to the Office for National Statistics, yet left around 7.5 million homes in fuel poverty and bill payers in £3.5 billion of debt with energy providers.
UK’s missed opportunities and unpreparedness helped in driving the energy market crisis according to an executive director at Citizens Advice, Gillian Cooper. Sluggish progress on green improvements, supplier failures, poor practices such as forced prepayment meter installations and a lack of targeted bill support have left millions of households experiencing the crisis’s terrible effects firsthand.
Energy UK’s chair and the chair of the commission, David Laws stated that over the past 50 years the British has experienced constant shocks related to energy prices which have proved to damage the economic growth. The surge in prices has also hit both households and businesses. The UK remains poorly prepared to absorb the surging prices although the future oil and gas shocks seem inevitable.
In order to protect the UK households and the economy from future energy price shocks, the commission has called on the government to prioritize shifting the UK away from a reliance on gas. The implementation of energy-saving measures such as insulation were also advocated. The commission advised stricter efficiency standards in the private rental market to assist improve the UK’s drought dwellings.
The commission also called out the government to roll out more heat pumps or other low-carbon alternatives to set out a plan to move homes away from gas heating.
The UK government was further urged by the commission to continue their constant efforts to cut down their dependency of plants powered by gas in favor of low-carbon electricity sources. This may also help to switch to clean energy alternatives for the energy intensive businesses. A report showcases that the industry experts encourage in pushing Britain to gain clean energy superpower stated the secretary of state for energy security and net zero, Ed Miliband. This strategy is also the core mission of the Labor government.
